Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Steve woke up nauseous again. He rolled out of bed, groaning as he stumbled over to the calendar posted on his wall. After a moment of fumbling with the marker, he put a dot in the corner of the day’s box. 

It was the 97th dot in the 109 days since the latest Upside Down fiasco. Almost every morning was the same, now. 

Steve would wake up miserable, stomach fighting him and head pounding. It felt like he’d been hung from his ankles while he slept. He hadn’t, he’d gotten cameras set up in his room after the 20th time it happened. Just in case. He hadn’t told anybody yet, either. 

In the bathroom, he splashed water on his face until he felt less like curling up and dying, and checked on his now-scars from the demobats. They were… not the prettiest. It was totally messing up his dating options. A girl got one look at this? He was done for. 

“Harrington!” The raspy voice of a freshly awoken housemate called. “You’re out of cereal!” 

Ugh. 

“Well stop eating all of it, and we won’t run out so fast. Seriously, man.” He called back, tugging his shirt back down and heading downstairs. 

Eddie Munson stood in the middle of his kitchen, hands on his hips. “You would not treat Robin this way.” He huffed, pouting. 

“Robin would not eat all of my cereal this way.” Steve countered tiredly, hip checking him out of the way of the fridge and passing him the milk before grabbing two eggs from the bottom shelf. 

“You should have her over tonight, though, ‘cause I think a sleepover would rock, like, super hard.” Eddie mused, stepping back so Steve could get to the stove. 

“I’ll ask her. Maybe she’s… busy tonight. I dunno. Pass the spatula?” He cracked both eggs directly into the pan, resigning himself to the fact that he forgot the butter. 

“Yeah, ‘course.” 

“Thanks.” 

Awkward silence. Steve finished making his eggs, and Eddie handed him a plate before he could turn to get one. 

Eddie was only here because Steve’s parents were not. Because he couldn’t go out, because even though it had been months, Hawkins would kill him if they knew he was still alive. 

“I gotta get Dustin to the arcade today, so we’d be here late- I would, at least. I’ll radio you once I get an answer from Robin about it. Cool?” 

“Doesn’t he have a slick bike?” Eddie frowned, talking through the last of his Frosted Flakes.

“He does, but his mom doesn’t want him riding it alone in the dark, so..” Steve shrugged, admittedly also talking through his final bite of eggs as he placed the empty plate in the sink. 

“Makes sense.” Eddie nodded, sounding bitter. “Murderers around and all.” 

“Nobody knows, Ed, you’re good.” Steve walked into the living room, grabbing his work vest and sniffing it before putting it on, nose wrinkling. He made a note to wash it once he was home. 

“You know the drill, radio the main channel if something big is up, go to the smaller one if not everybody needs to know. And don’t-” 

“Don’t leave. Got it.” Eddie flopped over the back of the couch, and Steve’s shoulders dropped. He felt awful for the dude, but… there was nothing they could do about it. Not really. 

“Hey. Chin up, that’s not even the moping couch. I’m heading out.” 

“You have a moping couch?” Eddie gasped, flipping onto the cushions as Steve walked away. “Harrington! You have a moping couch ? A dedicated one?” 

“Yeah, and I’ll give you ten bucks if you can find it without tossing the place or snooping like a perv.” 

And, finally, he was out the door, locking it behind him. 

One exhaustingly long day later, with confirmation that Robin was game for a sleepover and an extra time-consuming drive home involving getting groceries, getting Robin to her house, picking up Dustin from his house, grabbing Robin on the way to the arcade, forgetting to give Dustin quarters from Eddie and having to go back, and eventually actually going home, Steve wanted nothing more than to relax and be a lame 20 year old for a moment. 

And so he was. They watched movies, threw snacks at each other, played truth or dare, came out because that’s apparently what you do, Steve found out what bisexual meant, talked about going to the pool and thought the better of it. Normal people stuff. 

And then it was 11 pm and he was supposed to pick Dustin up an hour ago. 

“Oh, shit, shit shit shit!” Steve jumped off of the couch, rudely displacing Eddie from where he’d sprawled across his chest, earning a yelp and a string of curse words never heard by man before. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll be back, Dustin is still at the arcade. Or he started walking home, which is worse.” He was already tugging on his shoes, hardly looking back to see the tension that had fallen over the other two, both of whom had sat up immediately. 

“I’ll- radio? Once I got him. Be back in a flash.” And he bolted out the door, getting in his car and tearing out of the driveway before whatever he’d already done by being late got any worse. He was already rehearsing his apology. 

In fact, he got so caught up in it, that he almost missed the turn for the arcade’s lot, making a sharp right and parking as close to the doors as he could. Which… wasn’t hard, because nobody was there. 

But by nobody, it wasn’t just that there weren’t any cars. 

There were exactly zero upset teenage boys waiting to be picked up. Not out front, at least. Steve frowned, hopping out to make a perimeter sweep. 

It wasn’t more than 10 steps before he accidentally kicked a cassette tape. He crouched, squinting to read it in the semi-dark. 

Turns out he didn’t even need to read it. It was Dustin’s handwriting, which meant it was one of the collective tapes with everybody’s favorite song. He kept it in his pocket 24/7, just in case. 

Steve stood again, clutching the tape like it was his lifeline in a more direct sense than music would ever have been. 

“Dustin?” He called, walking faster. “Dustin?!”

Chapter Text

"Madmax. Max. Maaax." 

"Shh."

"Max, Nancy's here, everyone else is leaving." 

"Dustin. I am in the middle of something."

Dustin leaned back, locking eyes with Lucas and shrugging. 

Lucas shrugged back, making some gesture before Mike grabbed him, starting to drag him away. 

'I'll get Steve to take us,' Dustin mouthed, earning a thumbs up before his friends filtered out of the door. 

He shoved his hands into his pockets, doing a quick sweep of the arcade, waiting for the inevitable game over noise and subsequent profanity.

Nothing unusual, but people were clearing out. 

"Fuck!" 

Dustin walked back, making sure to compliment the high score. 

"Steve can take you home, and if not you’re free to crash on my couch.” He chewed on his cheek. “I also have a sleeping bag, now.” Nope, too far. Max looked up at him, eyebrow raised. 

“Up to you! Your comfort level. Your choice.” He shrugged, automatically taking a step back. 

“What time is it?” 

“Uhh…” Another couple steps and he could see the clock, squinting for a moment. “About 9:40. We’ve got ahh…. 20 minutes? Before they kick us to the curb. Steve shows up a little early, so. Y’know.” 

“Cool.” She leaned away from the game, eyeing the bright red motorcycles of Hang-On, new as of a couple weeks ago. 

Max turned back, and they had a brief staring contest before grinning, racing for the better bike. 

Max was closer, and got there first, to which Dustin whined about fairness. They flipped each other off, were yelled at by the new kid that took his job too seriously, and cackled as they dropped in their last quarters for the night. 

10 minutes later, Max’s bike crashed, and she lost . That’s right. Madmax. Lost. To Dustin. He was so caught up in the moment and the sudden boost to his ego that he crashed moments later, but those precious few seconds were ones he could hold over their head until the end of time. 

He didn’t shut up about it as they walked out of the building, not until Max actively put their hand over his mouth. It kicked him back into reality, and he frowned, staring out at the notably Steve’s-car-less parking lot. 

“He’ll be here any minute.” He muttered, checking his watch. He’d flipped it so it faced inward, but that didn’t change the fact that it said 9:55. “He’s not always early, just… most of the time. It’s cool.” 

At 10:13, Dustin mentioned that Steve was, sometimes, a little late because of…. Steve things. Max’s nose wrinkled, and she said something about gross weirdos and losers. He couldn’t really argue about that, so they dropped it.

By the time 10:30 rolled around, the lights all shut off in the building, and the workers of the closing shift walked out, tired and annoyed. Max and Dustin hid around the corner, any and all hopes of Steve having remembered to show up fleeting. 

10:43, and they were both out front, on the edges of an argument. To avoid it, Dustin reached in his pocket, holding out the Anti-Vecna cassette tape, mentioning that Max didn’t have a full one yet. He held it out, but as they reached for it, his arm jerked painfully, and he gasped as it went flying to the side, sliding on the concrete. Max glared at him, moving to grab it, but Dustin blocked her with his other arm, eyes wide. 

“I didn’t do that.” He breathed. She stiffened, standing again. They locked eyes for a second, then turned, shifting into more defensive positions. Or- they would have if Max hadn’t glanced down at Dustin’s arm. 

“Shit!” 

“What? What? ” Dustin whipped back around, and the shock faded. He could feel his arm again. 

Slowly, he looked down. There was a crimson spiral of shredded flesh from his elbow almost to his shoulder, and the blood had already dripped to his knuckles. 

“Oh, my god.” 

Finally, they looked in the direction of the tape, not sparing a second after they heard the familiar screech of the bat, grabbing hands as they bolted. 

Neither knew where they were going, but they knew Steve wasn’t there, nobody else was coming, there was a bat after them, probably more, and they didn’t have anything to protect themselves with. 

So off they went, following gut instinct. Neither of them could run very well. Yes, it had been two months, but they’d broken two legs between them, and Max had just barely gotten out of the boot and into normal shoes. 

Plus, Dustin was bleeding. Bad. Which was probably just giving the bats a scent trail. 

It wasn’t long before they were at the edge of the woods, and came stumbling to a halt and glancing at each other, trying to catch some air. 

“We can’t go in there.” Max pressed, leaning forward. 

“No shit, dude, but do you want to go back?” 

“Fair point.” A pause. “That looks pretty nasty.” 

“We are in the open and big evil bats are chasing us.” He wheezed. “Don’t even think about it.” 

“Also… fair.” 

Max looked down, brows raising once she realized they were still holding hands. Shrugging, she turned her focus back to the woods. 

“There’s a big tree a little bit in that we could both hide behind.” 

Dustin spotted it, frowning. 

“You wanna go for it?”

“What other choice do we have?” 

A look back at a large creature getting closer and closer informed the pair that there wasn’t one, and they charged in, getting behind the tree and pressing up against it, free hands over mouths. 

Max closed her eyes. Dustin looked down at his watch. 

10:56. 

Chapter Text

After just running around and yelling for a couple of minutes, Steve pocketed the cassette, hurrying back to his car for his radio and a flashlight. 

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” He hissed, flipping to the main channel.

“Hey assholes, did anybody see Dustin go home with someone else?” He gritted his teeth, praying for a ‘yeah, duh’ or maybe, maybe, the boy himself chewing him out for forgetting. 

Instead, there was silence. 

“I said. Does anybody know where Dustin is!” Steve shouted. He didn’t have time for this. 

He clicked on the flashlight and returned to the concrete where the tape was. Small, dark red dots were scattered around, and he knew for a fact they hadn’t been there before. 

“Mother fucker! ” He almost threw the flashlight onto the ground, stomping instead. This was bad. Whatever it was. It was bad.

The radio crackled. 

“Steve?” 

“Yes, hello, has anyone seen Dustin?!” 

“Steve. You didn’t pick them up?” Lucas’ tone was serious, on the very cusp of panic. 

Shit. 

“Them? Them, who’s them? Who was with him?” 

“You’re at the Arcade?” 

“ Yes , I’m at the-” 

“I’m coming. Get Hopper or something, there’s no time to hunt down the rest of the party.”

“Lucas- Lucas!” The one time he forgets, the one time … “Who was with him?” 

“Max. He was with Max.” 

Oh, great, good job, Harrington, you’ve lost the guy you were responsible for and the most at-risk member of this stupid group because you wanted to hang out with your stupid friends. 

“I’m gonna do a sweep of the lot, see if there’s anything to give us a lead. Calling Hop now.” 

“I’ll be there in 10. Over.” 

Steve cursed under his breath, flipping channels to the one Robin and Eddie would be on. 

“I don’t have him, there’s blood here, and apparently Max was waiting for a ride from me, too.” 

To save himself from getting sidetracked, he immediately switched away, to channel 11. 

“Hop, it’s Steve. Not to alarm you, but I’m pretty sure we have a situation.” 

A pause. 

A click. 

“What happened, kid?” 

Now that was a speedy reply. Thank god for Jim Hopper.

“I forgot to pick Dustin up from the arcade, apparently Max was waiting with him, what I’ve got is an empty lot, a cassette tape, and some blood. It doesn’t look like it’s dry yet, but neither of them are here and something else was . I got- Lucas is on the way, but Eddie and Robin are in my house and-” 

“Slow down.” 

Steve blinked.

“Okay.” 

“I’ll be right there, I want you to be ready to grab your house buddies as soon as I show up. I’ll do another sweep, and we’ll go from there.” 

“Okay. Okay, that sounds good.” Steve dropped slowly, crouching in front of the blood and clicking off the flashlight. 

“It’ll be okay, Steve, you got that?” 

“Yep- Yessir.” 

“Good. I’ll be there.” 

“...’kay.” 

He set the flashlight down, running a hand through his hair as he flicked back to the big kids' channel. 

“Hey, again, guys.” 

“Steve! Steve, what’s going on? You can’t do that, seriously, come on, you have to-” 

“Robin.” 

“Yeah- okay. Yeah.” 

“Pack your monster hunting kits. And uh… my bat is in my room. By my bed. I’ll be there in a little bit to pick you guys up.” 

“Got it. You got it.” 

“Thanks,” He breathed, looking up. And that’s when it clicked. His head tilted to the side as he squinted, standing to stroll towards the closest street light. 

There were dents in it. New. 

He picked up his pace, almost reaching the pole before- 

“Steve?” 

He spun on his heel, whipping around so fast it made the blood rush to his head. 

“Dustin.” 

“Steve,” Dustin repeated, and his voice sounded so, so small. He was filthy, and it looked like- like he had a huge red stain spreading across his shirt. His face was wet with tears, and he swiped at his nose before speaking again.  “You left me.” 

“No, no, man, I’m sorry, I forgot, that’s on me. I didn’t mean to leave you out here, I promise. Where’s Max?” Steve walked forward, arms out. Dustin took a ragged breath. 

“You- left me.” He sobbed, taking a step back. 

“Hey, it’s okay, now, I- whatever happened, I’m so sorry, but we need to see if you’re okay. Okay? Cool?” 

He closed the distance, putting a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, but the boy flinched away. 

“Don’t touch me!” He screamed, backing away. 

“Woah, dude, I’m sorry, I just-” 

“You’re just like him, you know.” The venom in his voice sent Steve’s heart plummeting. He could almost feel it shatter on the asphalt. 

“Like- like who?” He didn’t want to know. He didn’t. He couldn’t- 

“Your dad. You work so hard not to be, but you’re just- you’re just like him.” Dustin spat, and it was tinged red, dribbling down his chin. 

“You- you leave people. You don’t care. You-” 

And then a familiar guitar riff played, and Steve jumped, running towards an opening rift just before the drums and bass could kick in. He was out well before the vocals started, that was for sure. 

The next thing he knew, he gasped for air, collapsing into someone… big. 

“Woaaah, kid, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Hopper shushed, wrapping his arms tightly around Steve as Lucas backed away, still holding the tape player. 

“Hop?” Steve’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “Hopper.” He nodded, pulling away. 

“Dude.” Lucas was tenser than either of the others. For good reason, Steve supposed. “What was that?” 

“Uh, obviously the second sign that something’s fucking with us. Come on, the blood was over here.” He shrugged it off, handing back the headphones. 

He couldn’t let… whatever that was get under his skin. Not when the real Dustin was out there. Waiting for him. 

“...I think it’s Dustin’s.” He added, not looking back. 

Chapter Text

Somewhat sheltered by the tree, Dustin bit down on his lip, holding back a scream as Max tied off his arm with a torn-off piece of his button-down. 

"There," She sat back, sighing. 

"Yeah, cool, thanks, awesome." 

The bats hadn't entered the forest yet. They were smarter than anticipated, seeming to be waiting until the kids tried to make a break for it. 

There weren't many options on the table.

So, Dustin took one of the foolish ones, leaning around the tree to count how many bats there really were. He made it to five before Max spotted the last one, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet.

"Ow, what- oh . Oh. "

The bats screeched, and they were off, two gimp-legged teens against monsters as big as them with no aid coming in their wildest dreams. 

They didn't stop until their own labored breathing was louder than the beating of their assailants' wings. 

“Okay, okay,” Dustin folded forward, free hand on his knee for support. “They’re definitely still after us.” 

Max didn’t reply, looking straight up. Dustin’s heart dropped, and he squeezed their hand.

"Maax?" 

She blinked, regarding him silently. 

"Sorry."

"Don't do that!" He scolded, brutally ignored as they both looked up at the cluster of trees in front of them. 

Silence. 

"We're not climbing trees," Dustin stated firmly.

"We're climbing a tree."  

"Max. Max . They are bats. With wings. Wings mean they can fly. Max. Please. Work with me." 

"They're huge." 

"And that makes them more scary and evil. You didn't get eaten by them, I did, I don't want to climb a tree." 

"You hardly got eaten. E-"

"Eddie had it worse, Steve had it worse, everyone but me had it bad- they would have killed me given three more seconds !" 

Max stepped back, swallowing hard. 

"Sorry." Dustin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He glanced down at their still joined hands, finally, reluctantly, letting go. "Give me a boost."

"What?" 

"We're wasting time! Would you rather try and pull me up?" 

"Yeah, okay." 

A few moments and a pained grunt later, Dustin threw a leg over the lowest branch, steadying himself before leaning down to help Max. 

When they hesitated, he shifted, hanging upside down by his knees, offering both hands. 

"Your arm." She countered, but he shook his head. 

"I've been worse." 

Max shrugged, pretending not to flinch as Dustin's face scrunched up when they grabbed his hands, getting up as quickly as possible. 

Dustin hauled himself upright again, cursing as his hat finally fell off, hitting the ground softly. 

"Higher." He instructed, and Max launched into action, making sure he was right behind her at every step. 

They climbed until they could hardly see their surroundings, ideally hidden in the thick masses of branches.

"Do you think they're looking for us?" Dustin whispered as they rejoined hands yet again.

"I dunno. Maybe." Max shrugged, squinting into the dark. 

"D'you think they'd be able to find us?"

"...not until morning." 

"Okay." 

Quiet, tense and only cut by slight rustling. 

"We're gonna make it."

"Yeah, of course, yeah, no, we are." 

"Cool." 

"Cool." 

And then the rustling got louder, accompanied by disgusting, guttural noises and sniffing. 

"Shit." Max breathed, leaning to look down at the demo bat slowly moving up the trunk. 

"Swap trees," Dustin was already moving out along the branch he was on, gently pulling Max with him. 

The branches weren't sturdy as they got further out, so they paused, exchanging a worried look. 

"Jump." Dustin urged, but Max shook her head. 

"Hey. We'll be fine, okay?" He glanced back as the head of the bat poked into his near vision. 

"But we need to go now. " 

Max nodded, taking a deep breath before letting go of Dustin, and making the leap. 

Barely. 

She gasped, feeling something in her shoulder pop as she flailed, holding onto the new branch with everything she had. 

Dustin cursed, jumping towards another branch, but he was distracted and got caught on a lower one, sending him hurtling towards the ground. He landed hard, too dazed to scream, staring at the sky and struggling to get his lungs working again.

“Shit- Dustin! ” Max shouted, and the bats screeched again, the closest one hurling itself towards them. 

They screamed, letting go of the branch and landing next to the still-recovering, still-very-dazed boy and scrambling to sit up, shaking his shoulders. 

“Dustin. Dustin, get up, we need to go, we need to go now.” 

He groaned, blinking stupidly as he rolled over, dragging himself upward with Max’s help and staggering once he was upright, too dizzy to think. 

Max grabbed his good arm and took off, snaking through the trees, praying they had still been close enough that somebody heard them scream. 

She looked back every five seconds, making sure Dustin was still with her, and trying to keep eyes on the bats. 

While looking forward, she scoured the area for hiding spots, anywhere where they could stop, where they could check how damaging that drop was for both of them. 

But they couldn’t stop until they were clear of the bats, which could take hours. 

It felt like years, but finally, they spotted a small rock formation, something resembling a miniature cave. 

It was a little claustrophobic, but they both got in, and Max poked back out to drag some foliage over the opening. 

And they waited. 

And waited. 

Max took both of Dustin’s hands into her own, lacing their fingers together as she quietly promised him that it would be okay. 

His head lolled to the side, eyes half closed, but he was breathing steadily, so they decided not to panic about it just yet. 

They didn’t know it, but it was nearly midnight when they both passed out, the bats flying further into the forest, unaware of their hiding spot. 

There was no telling if, or when, they would be found. 

Or even whether there was a point in holding out for it. 

But they seemed safe, for the time being. 

Seemed.

Chapter Text

“Fan out, I want full coverage of the ground and up high,” Hopper instructed, taking care not to actually bark orders at the small group of kids in front of him. It had taken longer than he would have liked to collect them all and find a starting point, but there wasn’t much denying the giant claw marks on the telephone poles behind them and the trees in front of them. 

Technically, they had three teams working this. The Wheelers were at home, and Nancy had already called Mrs. Henderson and Ms. Mayfield, claiming that the kids were having an impromptu sleepover. That seemed to have gone smoothly, so from there all they had to do was pick up the phone first for all calls and keep in touch through the radio. 

The Byers and El were at the cabin, with El working on pinpointing their location. It was reportedly hazy, even in the void, and there wasn’t much in the way of clear surroundings, but they were working on it. Jonathan was on point for radio, with Joyce ready to answer the phone in case one of the moms called there.  

And then there was the search party. As they got started, from left to right, it was Lucas, Eddie, Hopper, Steve, and then Robin, all armed with flashlights and a weapon of some sort. 

“Remember, don’t call for them unless you see them, we don’t want people hearing a search happening at… 11:45 at night. Got it?” 

A chorus of dull agreements, and they dove in, scouring the woods for any signs. A clue early on gave some hope, at least that they were on the right track, and Hopper pocketed the scrap of patterned fabric, frowning. 

There was a vague path, disturbed ground and scattered claw marks here and there, but nothing more physical until about 20 minutes in. Dustin’s hat, resting upside down by the base of a more sturdy-looking tree. 

“Okay, they probably climbed up, they might still be up there.” Hopper sighed as they raised their flashlights. 

“Alright-” He cleared his throat, calling upward, toward the branches. "Guys? It’s Hop. Whatever was chasing you- it’s gone, okay? If you’re up there, you can come down.” 

Nothing. 

The radio crackled. 

"El says they're not in a tree. They're on the ground, in some kind of hidey-hole." 

A pause. 

"Asleep."  

“Great. Tell her thanks.” Hop nodded, and the kids’ shoulders dropped faster than their flashlights. 

“Hey- hey, that means they’re okay. Alright? I don’t want to see any of you giving up like that.” He shook his head, crouching and picking up the hat, brushing off the dirt and handing it up to Steve, who carefully pushed his hand through the opening in the back. 

“We’re ready?” 

After a handful of glum nods, they spread out again, calling quietly for Max and Dustin, not expecting an answer if they were both asleep. 

It took another hour before they found the hiding spot, hardly a nook in a couple of rocks with a hasty cover of loose leaves and other foliage. They had only found it because Dustin’s shoe was poking out, honestly. 

Hopper carefully removed the leaves, revealing the lost kids sitting face to face, firmly holding hands. 

They were covered in dirt themselves, with stuff sticking out of their hair. More concerning was the blood-soaked strip of fabric wrapped around Dustin's bicep, but that was something to be dealt with later. For now, they needed to get both of them out.  

It proved harder to separate the pair than to remove them from the pocket- Lucas gently pried their fingers apart as Steve and Hopper took Max and Dustin respectively, in bridal carry to minimize strain on whatever injuries they couldn't see yet. 

It was a slow walk to the cabin, the silence around the party almost deafening, but eventually, they made it, Joyce opening the door and letting them in before they could knock. 

From there, they split up, El and Joyce taking Max and Lucas and Will taking Dustin to get them cleaned up a little. 

They were both burning up, but until they were awake, there wasn’t much to do beyond replacing the wet washcloths on their foreheads periodically. 

The party took shifts in twos overnight, waiting, watching. Other than some tossing and turning, though, there was nothing to report. 

In the morning, Nancy called the moms again, saying that the party wanted to make a day of a hike out to Lovers Lake, and yes, of course, she, Jonathan, and Steve would be there. Yes, she’d call if they wanted to go home. Of course. She’d make sure of it. 

And then she and Mike drove out to the cabin, joining the party's grim discussion on what this attack meant.

It was over lunch that a lead was finally discovered. 

"What if they were being herded?" Robin offered through a peanut butter sandwich. Steve glared at her, so she swallowed the bite before continuing. "I mean, can we map out where they were going? Maybe Vecna-Henry-One was trying to lead them somewhere, but instead of a pied piper, uh, follow the candy trail, he just threw bats at them?" 

"Why would he do that, though? What's his end goal?" 

"I don't know if he has one. I mean- I think they only got attacked because they were out in the open at night." 

Steve tensed slightly, looking away, and Robin floundered before continuing. 

"Which!! Wasn't anybody's fault, really, just, you know, unfortunate. But Steve- I think you got hit in the parking lot because you were alone. And- stressed. Like, a lot." 

"Thank you." 

"Of course. So! From here- we've just gotta find out where, and why." 

“Well-” Lucas started, but a loud crash from Jonathan and Will’s temporary room made everyone jump, watching as Dustin forced the door open, stumbling as he made a determined beeline for the bathroom. Nobody even breathed until he had slammed that door behind him, and could be heard puking his guts out. 

“Shit.” 

Chapter Text

The party passed through the eye of the storm about 15 minutes after Dustin started vomiting, a collective sigh sounding as he slumped back, coughing. Joyce moved in, mom senses taking over as she helped him up and towards the sink, calmly walking him through wiping his face off, blowing his nose, rinsing his mouth out, and drinking a little water. 

Mike scrambled to grab the thermometer as Dustin was led to the living room, sinking into the couch and hugging his chest. 

He had a fever of exactly 100 degrees. In Indiana. In the summer. In a cabin in the woods.

They were in the middle of redressing his arm and grabbing ice packs when Max staggered out of her own room, and the cycle began anew. 

The thermometer read the same for Max, and eventually, the kids were on opposite sides of the couch, curled up, miserable, and silent. The rest of the party found places to sit around them, allowing for space. 

“I can try talking to them,” El said after it was clear neither was gonna metaphorically spill their guts. They reached to point at their head. “In here.” 

Steve and Eddie locked eyes with each other, tensing. Robin noticed, and after a moment of processing, leaned forward. 

“Umm…. let’s try Max, uh, first. Since she’s got the more, more direct connection. To Henry-Vecna-One.” She suggested, hoping her natural awkwardness didn’t draw suspicion to whatever her friends thought Dustin needed to hide. 

Eleven nodded, shifting to cross their legs as they closed their eyes. 

Max’s mind was scattered, caught between panicked loops of last night's events- from watching Dustin hit the ground well below them to racing towards the motorcycles in the arcade, but mostly of hiding, of making promises that she knew would fall on deaf ears- and other, more distant memories. 

The Snow Ball. A skate park. The Creels’ house. The beach. Helping the Byers pack up. The sleepover with El. Other things that El couldn’t get close enough to, small, hazy. 

But… other than being a little shaken up, there wasn’t… anything. No huge storms, no monsters, no… Vecna. It was all just Max.

There was a memory of just Max and Dustin, having a sleepover at his place, talking about something that looked serious, but El didn’t get close to it, reminding themself about boundaries. 

They opened their eyes, shaking their head. 

“Just scared.” 

The others deflated, sitting back, some shaking their heads. 

“We have to try Dustin now, right?” Will pressed, looking oddly guilty. “I mean- he got bit by the- bats. There could be a connection.” 

“We got bit by the bats, we haven’t had any problems.” Eddie pointed out, crossing his arms to mask his mild panic. 

“Yeah, we’re-” Steve started, cutting himself off when he earned a sharp glare from Nancy. 

“You just got hit by Vecna last night out of nowhere.” She pointed out, and Steve pursed his lips, making a small, resigned sound. He elected not to mention how he’d been feeling in the last two months. 

“He’s asleep.” Robin tried, but that didn’t get them anywhere. 

“We should at least try.” Nancy urged, and that was that. The rest of the older kids slumped back, defeated. 

El looked to Hopper, who gave them a small nod, before they got settled again, closing their eyes. 

Dustin’s mind was similarly split, but it was sharper, and if El got too close to the memories of last night’s chase, they could feel pain stabbing through their arm and shooting across their back. 

They stumbled backward, and the pain resided. Over and over, they watched him fall, watched as Max dragged him towards safety, as the bats closed in, and then… left. It seemed like they vanished entirely, but it was hard to tell. 

Tearing themself away, they walked through what felt like an endless field of panic and rage, pausing to watch him scream at the bats attacking Eddie in the Upside Down, limping to stand over his friend, cutting them down flailing as they attached to anything they could, only collapsing seconds after the monsters died. 

Continuing, they found him sitting alone on a dock in a different forest. 

“Camp.” 

They walked towards their friend, sitting next to him slowly. He looked glumly across the lake, kicking his legs. El reached out to comfort him, placing a hand on his arm. 

And then he was much smaller, in a house. There was a man. The man was yelling at his mother, pointing at him. He was angry. Angrier than Billy’s father. It was too loud, and El covered their ears, turning to flee. 

They found themself back in the Void, watching a million memories play out, the good and the bad. In many, Dustin was pacing, or jumping, or bouncing his leg. In most of those- the recent ones, at least- Steve and Eddie were there, looking worried, talking sometimes.

The sleepover was there again. They took a step towards it, but stopped. That was not their conversation. It was private. Secret. 

“Boundaries.” 

“Is there anything about Vecna?” 

They looked around, finding the camp memory again. 

“No.” 

Again, El sat next to Dustin on the dock, allowing for silence. They looked across the lake, and the forest shifted, darkening. Clenching their jaw, El turned back to Dustin, who looked different as well. He was dressed in what they'd found him wearing, and stood, staring forward blankly. 

They blinked, leaning back. It wasn't right.

“Wait.” 

Dustin looked down, regarding them with milky-white eyes before he stepped off of the dock. A splash, and he was gone, red blooming from where he’d disappeared, coloring the entire lake. 

El screamed, opening their eyes and scrambling back, breathing hard. 

Mike was by their side in an instant, and they leaned into his chest, shaking. 

“What? What was it?” They had the entire party’s attention- everyone had leaned forward, eyes wide. 

So, they took a deep breath, wiped their nose, and sat up. 

“He has him.” 

Chapter Text

It was pushing 5 o’clock when Max and Dustin recovered enough to do things like eat, nod, and walk. 

Since there was concern about Dustin slipping off to reenact the warped memory El had seen, Steve drove him- with Robin and Eddie- back to his house, playing ELO’s greatest hits album quietly along the way. 

Just in case. 

On the home stretch, the radio skipped a little, and Steve looked into the rearview mirror, adjusting it a little so he could see the boys in the backseat. 

“Jesus Christ!” He lost control of the wheel, swerving and almost crashing the car. In the reflection, Dustin was slumped to the side, limbs mangled and blood streaming down his face from where his eyes used to be, mouth agape. Eddie wasn’t much better, sufficiently mauled, staring glassy-eyed at the ceiling. The blood was… it was everywhere. 

“What- What?!” Robin turned to the back as Steve closed his eyes, bracing himself for her scream. 

But all she did was place a hand on his arm, looking worried. 

“Steve- are you okay?” She murmured, and he blinked stupidly, incredulous. 

“Me? They’re - oh.” 

As he turned back, he saw Eddie, perfectly intact, leaning forward, expression matching Robin’s. 

Dustin, still a little out of it, was squinting at him, brows furrowed. 

“I- I thought-” He shook his head, guilt tying knots in his stomach. “Sorry. Let’s- get home.” 

He stared straight ahead until they pulled into the driveway, silent. 

Prying his hands away from the steering wheel, he marched straight to the front door, allowing Robin and Eddie to help Dustin out of the car as he went in, making the couch as comfortable as possible. 

And, without a word, he headed upstairs to his room, locking the door behind himself before he unraveled. 

The next couple of minutes were a blur of destruction, throwing things off his desk, kicking at stuff on the floor, yelling. He was about to rip a poster off of his wall but froze as he hooked his fingers around the side. 

Star Wars. 

A note scrawled on the top corner, imploring him to actually watch this one, because he would really, really like it. 

He didn’t even notice the tears rolling down his cheeks until someone was pulling him away, wrapping him into a hug. 

“I’ve got you, dude,” Eddie breathed, resting his chin on Steve’s shoulder. “You’re okay. You’re good. It was Venca fucking with you.” 

“Right,” Steve sighed, letting his head fall into the crook of Eddie’s neck, hugging him back. “Right.” 

They just stood for a while, rocking slowly, until Steve pulled away, chewing on his cheek. 

“Thanks.” 

“‘Course.” Eddie looked pained, and Steve frowned, some gut instinct kicking in.

“You okay?” 

“Yeah- you’re the one that just had the major freakout, Steve, I’m fine.” 

It wasn’t all that convincing, but Steve dropped it anyway, looking around at the mess he’d made of his room. 

“Here-” Eddie had already dropped to his knees, grabbing books and making some comment about a complete lack of good literature around. 

“I can’t- read that well.” Steve protested, smoothing out the poster. 

“Then I guess I’ll have to read them to you. ” Eddie rolled his eyes, grinning. 

They went back and forth for some time, dancing around serious topics, talking about nothing, until Steve’s room looked… actually really good. 

Better than it had been before, even. 

“Woah. Thanks.” Steve gave a soft smile, holding his hand out for a fist bump. 

“‘Course!” Eddie repeated, returning the gesture. “Now let’s go see if Henderson’s still getting his ass kicked by that fever.” 

Downstairs, Dustin was, in fact, still getting his ass kicked by the fever, but was doing better otherwise. He wasn’t talking yet, choosing to flip his caretakers off instead. However, he was drinking lots of water and seemed mostly unfazed by the previous night’s events. 

As it got later, he was able to shower, changing into some old clothes Steve had rather than back into his ripped-up cargo pants and tragedy of a button-down. 

He shuffled out after inspecting some nasty bruising on his back from when he fell and dressing smaller scrapes that flew under the radar when he was being checked up earlier, grimacing at Eddie when asked how he was feeling. 

Left unattended for a moment in the living room while the others bickered about dinner, he found himself staring out at the pool, drawn to it somehow. 

He’d made it to the glass sliding door before he stopped, realizing that he didn’t… want to go to the pool. 

To compromise, he just stood there, watching the forest. There was something out there, and he steeled himself against the urge to grab a flashlight and see just what it was, to investigate, to explore.  

He was eased back into reality by Steve and Eddie, who gently guided him back to the couch, making him promise not to go out there- especially not alone. 

They ate in silence, watching some mind-numbing show on the tv, and stacked their plates on the coffee table to deal with later. At some point, they all found their way to the couch, leaning into or sprawling across each other, oddly content. 

Sometime in the early hours of the morning, Robin woke up, groaning as she detangled herself from the cuddle pile and squinting at the lights, left on in their laziness. 

She wandered into the kitchen, grabbing the dinner dishes and setting them in the sink before pouring a glass of water with the weirdest cup she could find- some plastic novelty item with a weird animal head and a straw, hidden in the darkest depths of the cupboard. 

Out of a sudden rush of paranoia, she looked back into the living room, half expecting at least one of the boys to be gone, or floating, or some shit, but… they were fine. 

Quietly, she lugged an armchair in front of the door to the pool, careful not to wake anybody. 

Then, she grabbed some blankets and wriggled back into her spot, almost reclaimed by the mess of arms and legs, unbothered by the soft snoring. It wasn’t long before she drifted off again, thinking vaguely about having regretted being an only child. Maybe these losers could function as an approximate. 

Maybe they could be okay. 

Maybe.

Chapter Text

Everything was wrong in the morning. 

Dustin woke up with a start and barely made it to the closest trash can before hurling again, Steve almost broke the bathroom mirror because his scars looked- and felt- fresh again, Eddie got a nosebleed-migraine combo halfway through making breakfast, and Robin’s hopes of the aftershocks fading hid deep in the back of her mind as she rushed between the three of them, commandeering half of the living room and Steve’s unused-since-freshman-year bulletin board to make maps and theories and charts and trying, trying to find a way to fix it, to make it stop. 

She needed to fix it. 

Instead, she just looked crazy, bending backward and going sideways at different ideas that didn’t make sense. 

When there was rustling in the kitchen, she took the opportunity to escape it for a moment, preparing to scold whoever it was for not asking for help. 

She found Dustin tying off the trash bag, hauling it out of the can with a pained grunt, and starting to drag it toward the door before realizing he wasn’t alone. The reprimands died in Robin’s throat as he stared at her defiantly, daring her to stop him from being able to help himself. 

Instead, she opened the door for him, saying she’d be back in 3 minutes to yell at him if he wasn’t inside and intact. 

He nodded, rolling his eyes, and shuffled out as she went to find where Eddie was hiding and see if he was feeling any better. 

He was well enough to throw a shirt at her, but that seemed to be the extent of it, so she left him in his dark lair, climbing the stairs to where Steve had holed himself up. 

After extensive knocking and insults, he cracked the door open, looking miserable. 

"Can I please come in?" She begged, and he obliged, flicking on the light. 

"Steve, what's going on with you? Dustin's fever and Eddie’s headache I get, but you have to work with me here." 

"I've been sick for two months." 

Well. 

He walked over to the calendar posted on the wall, pointing out the dots and explaining what they meant.

Well. 

"Steve- you should have told someone!" Robin didn’t have time to sugarcoat what she was saying before it was out, and watched as his shoulders dropped. 

“I know, I know, I was… gonna get around to it eventually. I didn’t think it was serious or anything.” 

“It’s- it’s definitely serious now, are you kidding me? I think Will was right, there’s gotta be a connection with the bats-”

There was a soft splash from outside, and the pair locked eyes for a moment before rushing to the window, watching Dustin drag himself out of the pool, shaking the water out of his hair. 

“Ohh, fuck-” Robin managed, and they were both charging down the stairs, calling for Eddie. 

Eddie was, as they saw, already at the door, shoving it open in a surge of violent panic. 

By the time they’d gotten outside, Dustin was standing on the other side of the pool, coughing. Looking up, he waved tiredly, breathing hard. 

“Guys-” He jerkily pointed behind him, into the forest. “Guys, there’s something out there.” 

“Henderson?” Eddie called, holding his arms out, as if he could somehow lean forward and grab him if he believed hard enough.

“Henderson, I want you to walk around the pool, to us. Okay, buddy?” 

Dustin looked down, carefully following the lines in the concrete, slowly, slowly , moving towards the house. 

A branch snapped, and the group flinched collectively, looking out, wide eyes sweeping the forest. 

There wasn’t anything there. Dustin kept walking. 

A fleshy rope shot out, previously disguised as a root. Swiftly, it wrapped around Dustin’s leg, his bad one, slamming him into the floor before dragging him backward, more vines snaking out as he twisted and kicked wildly, shrieking. 

“Shit!” He screamed, scrambling to get a hold of something, anything, met only with flat stone and loose pebbles. “ Shit!!” 

Finally, desperately, he reached out towards the kids frozen on the other side of the pool, paralyzed by fear and- something else. 

He would have said more, pleaded with them, begged them to help, but he’d reached the tree line, and… was gone. 

Whatever was holding the others in place vanished with their ward, and they each made use of their favorite profanities as they ran, all without weapons, radios, or even shoes, into the forest after Dustin. 

Robin had always hated fun houses at carnivals. Especially the mirror rooms. And as she passed between the first couple of trees, she was swiftly reminded of this fact, stumbling to a stop as she realized… neither of her friends was there, either. Instead, she was met with hazy duplicates of herself in her peripherals, just out of reach. 

Cautiously, she kept walking, suddenly very aware of how unprepared she was for this, for any of this. 

“Steve? Eddie?” She paused, waiting for a reply. “....Dustin?” 

Nothing. 

So she tried again, and again, screaming until her throat hurt. 

It wasn’t until her voice cracked and she choked that she heard the faint cries of the elder two. 

She held her breath, listening for what felt like ages before she could tell they were just… calling out names. Just like her. 

“Okay, okay, you’ve got this, Robin, just-” She took a few deep breaths, shaking out the stress. 

Oh, this was stupid. This was so, so stupid- 

Robin cupped her hands around her mouth, taking a deep breath before yelling at the top of her lungs. This was stupid, this was stupid, it was stupid , but if it worked… 

“Maarco?!”  

Quiet, but only for a moment. 

Then, faintly, from two directions, voices. 

“Are you kidding me?” 

“Fuck’s sake-” 

And nearly in unison- 

“Polo?” 

Chapter Text

There was something wrong. 

Will knew it as soon as he felt a chill run down his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge. 

It was confirmed moments later by Max, who pounded on his door, El in tow. 

He let them in, poking his head out for a moment before closing the door. 

“Three inches,” El muttered, and Will opened it again, measuring it with his fingers. 

Max was rooting around the room, poking through different containers. 

“You got a map, right? Hawkins plus a bit of extra?” 

“Uhh… somewhere. If it’s an emergency, I could just… draw a vague one?” He watched as the two flopped onto the floor, waiting. 

“Right.”

A few minutes later, they were huddled up, Will putting in the final lines and labels in red. He’d upgraded from crayons to pens and markers, if only for time’s sake. 

“May I?” Max held out a hand, and Will offered up the blue, shrugging. 

As she started to draw where she and Dustin had gone the other day, El closed their eyes, taking a deep breath. Will frowned, letting them both do their thing before asking what happened. 

Max finished with a circle for where they’d stopped and a few arrows pointing towards where they said they’d felt ‘pulled towards’, and El leaned forward, asking Will to point to where Steve’s house was. 

He obliged, and they took the purple, drawing three tall stick figures in the woods, not too far apart. They frowned, closing their eyes again before placing a smaller one, frowning, much farther out. 

Max and Will waited as they pointed out Steve, Robin, Eddie, and finally, Dustin. 

“Upside Down.” 

“That’s what the purple means?” Will prompted, and El nodded slowly, not looking up. 

“I think… Vecna took Dustin, and they tried to follow. The others.” 

“How would they all be in the Upside Down that fast, though?” Max pressed, leg bouncing. Will reached forward to put a hand on her knee, and she stopped, taking a deep breath and muttering an apology. 

“Maybe, maybe Vecna can’t fine-tune what he’s doing right now?” He offered. “I mean… attacking you guys at the Arcade when you were alone, trying to hit Steve a little bit afterward, driving you guys into the forest with bats, and now this? I don’t think he’s got that much control over how much he can do.” 

“He’s weak.” El agreed, standing. They paused, waiting for the others to do the same before opening the door and finding Hopper. 

After re-explaining what had happened, vain attempts to contact the Harrington house, and the formation of a plan, the party was geared up and ready to go. 

They would split up again, but everyone would be going in. Or, rather, going Down. 

The next step was finding a gate. 

Max proved to be the key to that, following the blind urge that had pulled her into the forest the first time. Of course, they were in the center of the group to avoid any separation, but it seemed to be working fairly well. 

The closest gate turned out to be in the base of a tree, and Nancy grimaced, shaking her head. She got over it quickly, being one of the first to go through. 

Slowly, carefully, they crept forward, starting to peel apart. One team, led by El, would go find Steve, Robin, and Eddie. The other, led from the center by Max, would stake out where Dustin was- El couldn’t pinpoint him in case Vecna looked back and found them . 

If everything went to plan, they'd regroup, save Dustin, kill Vecna properly, and get out quickly in case the dimension collapsed when he died. 

Very simple. 

And it worked out until about, say, step two. 

El led the way to Steve’s house quickly, with only the mild hiccup of Mike almost tripping on a root. 

They were fairly easy to find, bickering about taking out the trash and being closed off and all kinds of things that they should probably not be yelling about where they could get killed. 

A quick reunion, socks and shoes, and the passing of a tragically nail-free baseball bat later, they made their way towards the others. 

Easy.

In the meantime, Max’s team had found Dustin on Weathertop, sitting cross-legged with his hands in his lap, looking down. 

They stuck to the edges, reluctant to go out in the open before the others arrived. If he was conscious, he hadn’t noticed them yet, but there was no way of telling what Vecna had done or was doing.

So they waited. 

And waited. 

After what felt like a century, the other half of the party joined them, and a whispered argument broke out. 

It was obviously a trap. 

They couldn’t leave him there. 

There was strength in numbers. 

It was exposed. 

They didn’t know what was waiting for them. 

They had to try. 

Carefully, they shifted, trying to see Dustin’s face, get a better vague on whether or not he was even… Dustin. 

Robin stepped on a branch. 

Everyone froze, staring up at the boy on the hill. His head snapped up, lips pressed together and eyes wild, finding them in seconds. He shook his head vigorously, trying to pry his mouth open with his hands, now visibly tied together. 

Finally, he gave up, screaming anyway, twisting out of the ropes and scrambling to stand, stumbling as he turned to run the other way. 

He had only disappeared over the edge for a second before he popped up again, backing up slowly. 

Another larger figure followed, staring him down silently. 

One taloned hand was raised, and swung down, diagonally, catching Dustin across the chest, and he spun from the force, losing his balance as he tumbled down the side of the hill, coming to a halt at the bottom, completely still. 

Vecna watched him for a moment, tilting his head. He looked towards the party, arrogant, cold. Unfeeling. 

And the world started again. 

Chapter Text

The screams all blurred together, deafening as everyone jumped into action. Steve bounced in place before dropping his weapon and charging at Vecna, who was walking towards the party like he hadn’t just thrown their friend aside like an unwanted rag doll. Eddie didn’t see what happened next, staring at the sky. 

He took a deep breath and… ran away. 

Rather, he ran full speed toward Dustin, dropping painfully to his knees and giving the boy a once-over before dragging him into his lap, heart pounding. 

“Henderson, buddy, hey, hey, can you hear me?” He brushed the dirt off of his shirt- Steve’s shirt- he’d borrowed that shirt about a week ago, he’d run out of clean clothes and Steve threw it at his head, they’d laughed - eyes following the four gashes that traveled from his neck to his hip before he shook his head, grabbing Dustin’s hand.

“H- Henderson- Dustin. Dustin, you’re gonna be fine, alright? You’re going to-” Eddie swallowed hard, looking up. 

The party had the upper hand- it looked like Steve was seconds from breaking Vecna’s arm, bullets were finding their marks in his ugly fucked up torso, and El was doing her weird superpowers thing. 

He was going to hurl. 

Instead, he looked back down at this kid, this child that was bleeding out in his arms. 

Dustin gave his hand a weak squeeze, coughing. His eyes opened, half-lidded but wide enough that Eddie could feel tears pricking his own. 

“Eddie.” 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s me. Hey.” Shit. He didn’t try to stop his voice from cracking. “Hey, dude, you can’t- y’can’t quit on me right now, you hear me? You’ve got- You’ve got a- You’ve got a world to conquer, here.” 

Dustin grimaced, and Eddie pulled him close, using his chest to put pressure on the wounds, trying to stop or at least slow the bleeding. 

“Eddie, you’re crushing me,” Dustin mumbled into his shoulder. 

“I know, I know, bud, but I don’t- I don’t know how else to- You’ve gotta think of the kids at school, alright? Are you gonna let- You’re gonna let Mike and Lucas lead them into-” 

“Mike ‘n’ Lucas… they’re not that bad.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Eddie laughed, and Dustin groaned, so he held him tighter, taking a shaky breath. 

“They can’t do it without you. They’d-” Bite each other's heads off. “Suck.” 

“You…. you suck.” 

“Yeah, maybe, but-” 

The others almost had Vecna down for the count. People were screaming. One shrill voice, one Eddie couldn’t place at the moment was just saying the same thing, over and over. ‘ I’m gonna kill you.’ 

“But I got to know you, that counts for something, right? I was deemed cool by Dustin Henderson? That’s an exclusive list, man. I’m honored.” 

Dustin snorted, coughing again. 

“Henderson, listen to me, you’re gonna be alright, they’ve- they’ve almost got him. Okay? They’ve almost got him, and you’ve gotta kick his stupid head once he’s down. Kick him in the ribs.” 

“Kicked Troy in the balls once.” 

Eddie blinked, brows furrowing as he tried to recall whether he should know the name.

“What? Troy as in the bully that Steve scared off?” 

“Would’a killed me, f’Steve waddn’t there. Said’f I told anybody, I’d- be dead. Troy did.” 

Oh.

Oh.  

“Well, you told me, and you’re not going to die, so… so he was bluffing.” 

Dustin didn’t reply, leaving Eddie to sit there and listen to the raspy, shallow breaths, to the sheer carnage uphill from them, to his own senses screaming at him, and the started rocking back and forth, jerkily, biting his lip. 

“Henderson.” He breathed, finally finding his voice again. “Henderson, talk to me.” 

“Eddie-” Dustin sobbed, finally returning the strange hug. The waterworks were going now, and Eddie could even feel his nose running. Shit. 

“Eddie, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I-” 

“No, no no no no no there’s- God damn it, Henderson, there’s nothing to apologize for. You didn’t do shit. This wasn’t on you.” 

“He was using me and I didn’t care, I just- I just wanted to- I just wanted to be-” Independent? Big? Strong? 

“That doesn’t matter. Hey. Dustin. It doesn’t matter. Okay?” 

Dustin shook his head, and Eddie hugged him impossibly tighter. 

“ M’kay ?” 

A pause. 

“Okay. O-Okay.” 

“Now c’mon, just- we just gotta wait this out. Then- then you’ll be just fine.” 

What was taking so long? 

Eddie leaned to the side, trying to get a better angle on the fight. 

As he did so, Nancy braced a gun against Vecna’s forehead. Everyone took a collective breath and held it. She leaned closer, muttering something. 

And fired. 

Eddie winced, focusing back on his charge, who wasn’t crying anymore. In fact… 

His arms went slack, and Eddie felt his heart skip several important beats. 

“Dustin. Dustin? Shit- Shit, dude, don’t do this, come on, we just got him, we just-” 

He looked up, seeing the party just standing there , and finally snapped. 

“Somebody fucking help me!” He screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. 

And they came running down, the adults arriving first, El and Mike among the last. 

Hopper had already pulled his overshirt off, gently prying Dustin away from Eddie and wrapping him up, checking his pulse, nodding when he found it. 

Joyce was running damage control on everyone else, handing out wipes and attachable ice packs as they moved, dropping back to Eddie once she was done. 

They couldn’t stop, so she gave him a quick once-over and slipped her hand into his, holding it tight. 

“Everything’s gonna be okay.” She assured, and it was… all he needed, really. She was so sincere, so confident in it, that he felt like he’d be a total dick if he didn’t believe her. 

“Yeah- Yeah. ‘Course.” He nodded, wiping his face. 

“Oh,” She frowned, pulling a pack of tissues out with her free hand, and offering him one. 

“Thanks.” He breathed, shoving it into his pocket once he’d used it, not wanting to look at the blood that had started to dry. 

“Thank you.” 

Chapter Text

After a while of searching, the party found a rift. In silence, they returned home, taking extra care to get Dustin through safely. 

It wasn’t until everyone was out and the rift had closed that things went wrong again. Will was the first to voice his concerns, weakly mentioning that he didn’t feel well before he collapsed into Johnathan’s arms. It was alarming, but they needed to keep moving if they wanted to get to the hospital in time. 

Max made it about a minute longer, brows furrowing in confusion before her legs gave way, Lucas catching her before she hit the ground. 

Steve frowned, pointing upward and opening his mouth to say something before giving up and placing his hand on Robin’s shoulder before his eyes fluttered closed, landing on the ground with a thud. 

Joyce, still holding Eddie’s hand, hastily prepared for the fall, supporting him despite the not-so-indistinct size difference. 

Nancy was the last to go down, caught by a suddenly red-faced Robin, though nobody noticed at the moment. 

El stood still, though everyone’s eyes were on them, worried. When they didn’t pass out like the rest, a collective sigh of relief passed instead. 

Will was passed to Mike, who awkwardly shifted him from princess carry to piggyback as Johnathan stepped towards Robin and Nancy, but after a moment, it was clear that the former was much stronger than she had seemed, so he sighed, staring at Steve for a beat before picking him up and making a face as he picked the sticks out of his stupid hair. 

With Max more securely in Lucas’ arms, that left Eddie. Joyce couldn’t carry him on her own. Everyone else’s arms were full. Except... El. 

A couple of seconds of struggling later, they had him effectively if not comfortably and began the trek back to the cabin. 

There weren’t enough blankets, couches, or beds to accommodate everyone, so Hopper loaded Dustin in the backseat of Joyce’s car, Lucas volunteering to go along for the ride to the hospital so she could zip right back once he’d been checked in. To cover all the bases with the others, however, he ended up staying.

 Jonathan made the call to Mrs. Henderson, hardly hesitating before explaining that a bear had come out of nowhere and Dustin happened to be closest. For the sake of believability, he mumbled something about hunters already making it angry, probably, but she had already hung up, and he turned back to the half dozen unconscious people that had no reason for all being out cold beyond everything needing to be terrible all of the time.

Hopper tossed him a thermometer, nudging him away from the phone, making a call to Murray- for backup, if anything. 

They still didn’t know if Owens was safe. 

Murray would be there shortly, however, so progress was progress. 

Jonathan wiped the thermometer on a paper towel between each person, and despite some differences, everyone was… just fine. 

Robin had parked herself solidly in between Eddie and Steve, chewing on her cheek as she stared at the wall. 

Mike and El were next to Will and Max respectively, so Jonathan sat next to Nancy, who had scored the couch. 

And they waited. 

Meanwhile, Joyce was within blocks of the hospital before a familiar station wagon whipped around the corner, and Mrs. Henderson was frantically trying to get her to pull over. 

Confused and honestly quite startled, Joyce turned into the closest parking lot, which by some mercy was empty. 

Mrs. Henderson parked nearby, unbuckling and speedwalking to the driver’s side window, which was being rolled down as fast as possible. 

“Claudia-” 

“Jonathan called me already, he said what happened.” 

“Yeah, I- I didn’t- I had to get him to the-”

“Joyce, please don’t drive off or call me insane, but you cannot take that boy to the hospital.” 

What?

“No- What- Claudia, he’s going to die.” 

Joyce watched as she took a deep breath, bowing her head. 

“He would die if you took him there, and if he didn’t, it’d be worse than death. I don’t want to move again, Joyce, I have friends here- Dustin has friends here.” 

“But- W- You’re not making any sense !” 

Mrs. Henderson sighed again, leaning closer, glancing around. 

“Joyce, I know every mother in the world has said this about their children, but he is different .” She murmured, and Joyce shook her head, raising her arms in defeat. 

“That doesn’t change the-” She cut herself off when she saw how serious her friend’s face was. 

“He’s transsexual, Joyce.” She said slowly. “So unless you want to ruin his life and send me searching for a new home and new jobs in another town, you will listen to me and wait until I get an address from my car.” Mrs. Henderson’s voice was cold, and Joyce leaned back, staring out of the windshield.

“Oh.”  

He was different. Not just in that he had… CCD or whatever, in ways that were much more dangerous for him.

“ Oh… ” 

By the time the information had sunk in, Claudia had walked to her car and back, the address scrawled on a napkin as promised. 

“I’ll be right behind you. It is a hospital, so drive just as fast as you were before. He doesn’t-” She swallowed, looking away as she blinked back tears. 

“I need him to be okay.” 

“You got it.” Joyce nodded, and she was off, determined to get this boy the help he needed, not caring about the extra steps. 

She got to the place, parking in the back as doubt began to creep in. It subsided as soon as two nurses rushed out with a gurney, and she realized she needed to help them, so she jumped out of the car, opening the backseat for them and watching them take Dustin away as Claudia pulled into the next spot over. 

From there it was more waiting. Joyce was asked if she was on the paperwork, and she shook her head, neither woman feeling bothered to explain that they weren’t a couple. 

Eventually, she made a call to the cabin, briefly explaining what was up without passing on information where it was not her place, and explained that he couldn’t have visitors- at least not for a while. 

Then it was back to a doctor, and she lied about the bear that had come out at them while they were… hiking, how the older sister of one of the other kids had brought a rifle in case… and it all blurred together from there, oddly reminiscent of when she had just gotten Will back. 

She closed her eyes, leaning back in the uncomfortable waiting room chair, praying that it was over this time. 

For the kids’ sake. 

Chapter Text

The greatest help often comes where you would least expect it. 

In this case, it was Wayne Munson on his way home from the plant, who had picked up a few cassettes to drop off at Family Video. 

Met with a store void of the kids that had been hiding his nephew, he moved on to Steve Harrington’s house, content to leave the bag on the doorstep if nobody else was home. 

The boy’s car was parked in the driveway and the lights were on, so he figured it couldn’t hurt to say hello to his kid, even if it was from afar and only for a second. 

The first knock went unanswered, but it seemed to be a big house, so he waited, and tried again. 

As he made the third attempt, a little stronger, the door swung open, and there was something familiar about it that made him uneasy. 

“Hello?” He called, poking his head in. 

A few steps further and he saw the mess that was the living room, with some crazy-looking mess of notes and pictures and strings on the coffee table, 4 people’s worth of blankets dumped on the couch, and an armchair next to a very much open glass door. 

Wayne glanced at the board, not understanding much beyond Eddie’s name, that Henderson boy who’d told him the news, and references to bats. It looked like when Eddie tried explaining his D&D shit a couple of years ago, but worse. And close to damn real. 

Now, Wayne wasn’t the brightest, but he also wasn’t stupid. He didn’t know what had happened here, but he knew it wasn’t planned, and it wasn’t good. 

The discovery of a bloody bat with nails hammered into it in the hallway upstairs solidified the idea that this might be what had cost Eddie his freedom. 

What had cost them their home. 

A handheld radio was lying in the middle of the mess, and he picked it up, figuring it didn’t hurt to see who was on the other end. 

“Hello?” 

After a moment, a gruff voice answered, one he didn’t quite recognize. 

“Who is this?” 

“Uh- Wayne. Wayne Munson.” He didn’t know what else to say. “Have you- been in contact with Steve Harrington, by chance?” 

A pause, and a hesitant answer. “Yes. Eddie’s uncle. Right?” 

“Yessir. And you are?” 

“Jim Hopper, sir. And yes- yes, I’m dead, yeah, mall fire. Surprise. Listen-” The man sighed, and Wayne couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, looking at the notes more closely. They still didn’t make much sense, but he was starting to get a picture. 

Supposedly-Chief-Hopper gave Wayne instructions on how to get where they were staying and made a promise to explain what he could once he’d arrived, so he picked up the bag of tapes again, closing the front door behind him and following the vague driving directions until he arrived at an extremely run-down cabin. 

He and Jim had a smoke and a long conversation about monsters and the government and superpowers while some other guy was inside yelling about how best to make soup for the half dozen unconscious kids inside. 

If he didn’t know better, he would have called the police and reported some kind of drugging, but with everything else that he knew, it didn’t seem to be the case. 

Still, it was odd. 

So he heard about the truth behind the Creel murders, government experiments on children like the girl inside with the barely grown-out buzz cut, the disappearances of the Byers boy and Barbara Holland, mutant dog things and mind control, Russians under the mall, flesh monsters, and all manner of things that sounded completely insane, but somehow, he believed. 

He decided to blame it on the bats. And the Henderson boy’s limp. 

“So… when do they wake up?” He asked, leaning forward to look inside again. 

“We uh,” Jim sighed, wiping his mouth with his hand. “We don’t know. We’re still working on that one.” 

“Seems fair enough.” He looked out, watching the forest. “Anything you need?” 

“Well. If you’re up for it, I can give you some cash, and you could pick up some snacks for the kids. They’re probably gonna wake up hungry or puking their guts out, and we’re not really stocked for… house parties, yet.” 

“Course,” Wayne nodded, and the exchange was made, a vague list drawn up. “Anything else?” 

Jim thought for a moment, nodding slowly. 

“Yeah, uh, could you check up on Joyce at that one outskirts hospital? The green one. She’s probably stressed out of her mind, and I can’t call from here, so.” 

“Sure thing.” 

Wayne was new to this, as of roughly an hour ago, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to help. These were people Eddie trusted, and they seemed to be on the right side of things. 

Plus, he’d been to that hospital plenty, usually on Eddie’s behalf. It was the least he could do to give a hand. 

Didn’t matter what happened, if his boy was safe, if he was taken care of. 

Sounded like the monsters were gone now, anyways. 

Maybe he couldn’t go fight them, but he could buy a couple boxes of cereal and some apples.

Chapter Text

It was a day-long tag team effort of minding the kids, two minders on whoever jolted upright at random, waiting out the delirious screaming and wild threats, changing out ice packs and wet washcloths on foreheads, the hiking/camping premise keeping parents that cared at bay. 

Lucas spent most of his time at the hospital, calling when there were updates on Dustin. No one thing was particularly serious, but every scrape and busted rib added up eventually. Plus, of course, the giant claw marks across his entire torso.

It was reminiscent of staying with Max, in a way. But not entirely.

Nobody explained why they were in what he’d originally assumed was either a factory or a very well-off pot shop, why everyone was staring at him, why Mrs. Henderson wasn’t there, but he accepted it- whatever the reason was, it wasn’t his business. 

He had been written in on the paperwork, though, a footnote. Friend. It let him stay close by, as a point of contact. 

By the time the others had recovered, groggy and disoriented but otherwise okay, Dustin had been treated for a hairline fracture in his right forearm, three cracked ribs, and a concussion. The lacerations across his chest and around his arm and leg had been carefully cleaned and sewn up, hidden behind bandages that needed changing every couple of hours. 

And he was allowed two visitors. 

Dutifully, Lucas called Mrs. Henderson and Mrs. Byers, filling them in. He took a deep breath before the nurse lead him down a hall, warning him about hugs and volume control. He nodded absently, looking at the picture frames, a realization finally dawning on him. 

He kept it to himself as he poked his head into Dustin’s room, the nurse knocking softly. 

“Dustin?” She almost cooed, “Your friend is here to see you.” 

He didn’t reply, staring at the ceiling. 

“He’s probably just tired.” She smiled, turning back to Lucas and patting him on the shoulder before walking out. 

Slowly, Lucas pulled up a chair, sitting in the silence for a moment. 

“Hey,” He started, and Dustin blinked, turning his head to stare at him- through him. “How- How do you feel?” 

“Doesn’t matter.” He frowned, eyes narrowing. “You beat the hell outta Vecna?” 

“Yeah, uh, we got him. For real, this time. I think.” 

“Feel like shit.” He looked away again, back to the ceiling. “Did they tell you?” 

Tell him? About what? Who?

Lucas’ brows furrowed, trying to think. 

Oh. 

“No, but…” He reached out, placing his hand on Dustin’s, watching his friend relax, if only slightly. “Honestly, dude? I don’t care. You’re safe, alive .” 

That didn’t seem to do it, so he continued. 

“I care about you. Nothing else.” 

A smile, small at first, spread across Dustin’s face and grew contagious. 

And in that moment, nothing was more true. 

Hours flew by in seconds, spent laughing about everything and nothing all at once. 

For the first time in ages , they felt, truly and honestly, like friends again. 

Like kids again. 

Secrets were spilled, hearts were crossed, and though no death was wished for, the sentiment remained. 

The next day, Lucas was back, with Steve and Eddie in tow, Mrs. Henderson graciously sacrificing her spot, and Dustin was made to swear up and down he wouldn’t ‘pull shit’ ever again. 

Will and Max were next, hushed conversations about Vecna being gone and what it had felt like dragging on for ages. 

Murray made an appearance in Hopper’s stead, Joyce got teary-eyed, and Wayne brought flowers after quietly asking Eddie which kinds he thought would be best. 

On it went, until slowly, slowly, over a week, everyone had come to visit. 

And a week after that, he was free to go, swarmed by helpers as he ambled to the car, threatening to beat everyone up with his new forearm crutches. 

He just hoped he wouldn’t need them by the time school started- the mob of pitying friends or the crutches.

A couple of days after he was home, sleepovers were back on the schedule, and with a lot of pleading and puppy eyes, Hopper agreed to let El stay over at Dustin’s with Max. 

In the wee hours of the morning, El finally worked up the courage to ask about the serious conversation in their memories. 

By lamplight, the three had a long discussion about gender and what it meant to different people. Rather, Dustin and Max talked about how they felt and what they had researched, and El listened, nodding slowly. Whatever they were figuring out with their own gender, they needed time to think about it. 

In the morning, Max showed the others how to make paper stars, and by noon there was a mountain on the kitchen table, some with little notes inside, locked away forever. 

When Steve came to collect them to go to the arcade, he was pelted, and found little stars in his laundry and his car for weeks afterward, scoffing or rolling his eyes each time.

Mr. and Mrs. Harrington came back just before school started again, so Eddie crashed at the cabin, ‘accidentally’ leaving a few tapes behind once the next 6-month ‘business trip’ started up around Thanksgiving. 

Small rifts still opened every once in a while, usually in the woods- though one caught Mike’s foot when it popped open while he was running the mile. They usually closed up pretty fast, so he blamed it on a rock and his classmates blamed it on him being a dweeb and the world moved on. 

El and the Byers were still living in California for the time being, but plans were being made to move back in the upcoming year, and every school break was spent back in Hawkins, with Jonathan’s buddy Argyle tagging along on occasion. 

The biggest change was the number of little paper stars. Everywhere. 

They showed up in backpacks, hoodies, and shelves. 

Little reminders that everyone was okay. 

That everyone was safe.