Work Text:
Mike couldn’t breathe.
No, literally.
The vine produced from the unfamiliar ground of the Upside Down had slid up his body until it finally found his exposed neck. After that, it hadn’t hesitated to constrict around the vulnerable skin. The oxygen had been thrusted from him, yet it wasn’t what was truly ending his life. Not even close.
It was Will who’d kill him.
For Mike’s first time in the Upside Down, he had to say: it couldn’t have been going worse. At first, him and Will getting separated from the rest of the Party seemed like a coincidence. But now it was clear, it was anything but that. Vecna was a master of deception. Like Lucas had said back at the hospital, they didn’t believe in coincidences. Not anymore. No matter how much they all tried, Vecna would always outsmart them, trapping them in any deadly situation he wanted to. But why? Why them? Why Will?
It had always been Will, hadn’t it? From the very beginning Vecna had targeted him. Kidnapping, possession, torture. It had always seemed obvious: Will was the one Vecna was after.
So why now was he dragging Mike along with him? But it wasn’t really a full thought. Vecna wanted to hurt Will. So the sick bastard was going to trap Mike and hurt him in front of Will until he finally cracked. Maybe even kill him.
Mike had to do something. Anything.
He could just wait. Wait to be tortured? Wait to die? Wait for Will to suffer?
Keep it together, Mike. Don’t shut everything out again. Not this time.
In the end, Mike knew the truth. He always did: he was more than willing to die for Will.
If only he could think of a way to grab Vecna’s attention long enough for Will to get away. Come on, Mike, think. He’s on the line.
Will’s on the line.
That was enough for Mike to snap back into reality. The vine had continued to wrap around his neck, enough to hold him in place without truly suffocating him. This wouldn’t be the way he’d die, not at this rate. It was just to keep him still. Vecna had something much worse up his sleeve—or… his red, veiny arm.
Mike’s thoughts raced faster than they ever had, as his eyes froze in fear at the sight in front of him. Will was standing strong, feet planted on the midnight ground of the Upside Down, avoiding any vines like Mike had failed to do. From a distance, stalking quietly around him, was Vecna. The monster paced like an animal preparing to strike its prey and rip it to shreds.
Despite the pride and trust he had in Will, Mike knew he couldn’t fight Vecna alone. Despite his powers being innate, they weren’t as strong as Vecna’s were. Even El couldn’t win a fight against him and she’d been practicing with her powers since she was a child. Will had just discovered his yesterday. So Mike sure as hell wasn’t going to stay strapped to this tree and watch Will fight a hopeless battle.
As Mike squirmed around, desperate for anything that could possibly help, two more vines shot up from beneath him, snatching his arms from beside him, holding them up so he couldn’t move. Gasping and shouting as he struggled, all he did was waste his energy. If Will couldn’t win against Vecna’s powers, what made Mike think he could break free from them? Mike was once again: worthless.
Shaking at the sight of Mike’s trapped body, Will tensed his shoulders, eyes slowly rolling back. Mike’s heart raced. Despite a few visions, Mike hadn’t seen him use his powers again since the Demos attacked the military base.
No, no, no, he couldn’t do it. He was going to die trying to save him. Mike thrashed around, desperate to get free. The vines didn’t even budge. If anything, they just got tighter.
Vecna wasn’t bothered in the slightest by Mike. His gaze was focused on the power-wielding boy.
Before Will even got the chance to raise his hands, Vecna jerked his head toward Will, sending him flying a few feet back until he ultimately landed on his stomach. Mike's heart skipped a beat, instantly horrified at the sight of Will getting harmed.
Will groaned, using his palms to bring himself up so he was on his hands and knees. Vecna just watched, as if nothing happening phased him at all.
As Vecna neared closer, it’s as if Will’s powers stopped working. Like he needed something to bring them out, like they had the time before. He knew El’s powers required encouragement to reach their highest potential, positive or negative. But what could Mike do from here? Useless, helpless Mike could never do anything.
But suddenly, Will froze. His muscles tensed like they were trying to fight an unseen force. He was stuck, Vecna’s powers holding him still. Even from here, Mike could see the sweat run over Will’s face, fighting the force as hard as he could.
Though, as Vecna stood in between the two boys, Will spoke. Somehow, he spoke.
“Mike…?” Will said through clenched teeth.
“W-Will—“ Mike’s sore voice was cut off by the vines pressing harder, followed by a sharp cry from his lips.
Another groan followed as Will pressed his forehead to the floor, Vecna strengthening the invisible grip held on him.
“You really thought you could protect him?” That gravely, deep voice was back, sending chills through Mike’s spine. “You can’t even protect yourself. You can’t help anyone. Deep inside, you know that. I can see it. That horrible fear that you’ll let everyone down.”
The vines tightened, Will pressed harder to the floor. Vecna was winning.
But he was wrong.
Will was not helpless. He was strong, stronger than anyone Mike had ever known. He was his sorcerer. His friend. His best friend.
His Will.
Throwing his arm back, Mike thrashed his hand and sunk his fingertips into the vine as hard as he could until they submerged deep into the flesh. With his newly freed hand, he clawed at the tentacle around his neck until its inner substance splattered on his skin. At this point, he didn’t care about anything but Will. He’d rip a demogorgon with his teeth if he had to.
Just as he expected, the vine weakened, shrieking from the sudden pain.
“Will!” Mike shouted. “Don’t listen to him! He’s wrong! You’re not weak! You’re the bravest person I know! And I—“
The vine recovered quickly, but now much stronger. Mike could hardly breathe, let alone speak. It was too tight to claw out. Those final words were all he could get out. It wasn’t good enough. He’d failed.
Vecna could have killed him already. What was he waiting for? Why was he holding back?
Tears burned Mike’s eyes while watching Will struggle, a combination of his body’s natural reaction to the pain mixed with the knowledge that this may be their last moment together. It was too horrific for the tears to fall. Instead they stayed glossing his eyes, stinging to no end. How long had it been since Mike’s cheeks were wet from crying. He couldn’t even tell you.
The tentacles just got tighter, stronger until Mike could have sworn a little harder and he’d be killed from the force. The end. But, Mike was weak. Will was not.
Despite Vecna’s power, Will spoke once again, resisting the force. How could he do that? Was he more powerful than any of them originally thought? Or was Vecna holding back. And why was Vecna holding back?
But it didn’t matter. Mike got to hear that voice again. The soft, gentle sound he’d taken for granted all of these years. His favorite sound, it just took death to realize it. But Mike wasn’t dead. Not yet.
“Mike!” The voice called, still struggling against the power.
Hearing his name was enough for him to slam his eyes shut, and let the tears fall. Not sobbing, just a few drops of raw emotion he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Mike, can you hear me?” Will shouted from below. Mike couldn’t respond. Just got to take in the words gifted to him.
“I’m here, Mike!” he continued. Suddenly, a jerk of muscles and he wailed towards the floor, Vecna clearly inflicting some sort of internal pain. His fingertips dug into the ground, still trying to stay strong. Continuing to fight, Will lifted his head, revealing small streams of blood coming from his eyes and nostrils.
More desperate sobs and chokes echoed from Mike's chest. Still, no matter how much he writhed around, he was stuck.
“Mike, listen! Do you remember that day, in third grade? It was raining outside, and we all had to stay inside during recess instead of going outside. We were both sad, we wanted to go play, just the two of us. Instead, we had to be with the rest of the class. That’s the day Troy started bullying us.”
Mike’s stomach ached as he recalled the memory. He hadn’t thought about Troy for so long. Why was he bringing this up now?
“But I don’t remember that as a bad day. I don’t because of you. Do you know why? Because Troy asked you to play with him and his friends. You asked if I could come too, and he—he said no. You refused to go without me, no matter what he said. Even after, he said ‘what? do you like him or something?’ and he called you all those awful names. Do you remember what you said to me?” Will’s voice cracked. “You said you didn’t care what anyone thought, anyone at all, because the only thing you cared about was being with me, no matter what. Even when they started making fun of you, and bullying you, you told me you wouldn’t change it for the world because—because you got to be my friend. Then after school, you came over and we splashed around in the rain, even though it was cold, and we were both shivering. Still you were smiling and I was too. After everything that was said about me that day, about you, the only thing you wanted to do was be with me. You never saw me differently like everyone else did. Never.”
Mike didn’t even have to search for the memory. It was clear to him. He could smell the wet concrete, feel the anger in his cheeks as Troy picked on Will, like it was yesterday. He never once thought about choosing the other kids. Not once.
“That was the day, Mike. That was the day I knew I loved you.”
Mike stopped breathing. But not because of the vines. He froze. But not because of Vecna. His heart pounded. But not from fear.
Love.
Love.
That was the day, Mike. That was the day I knew I loved you.
Those words echoed in his mind, occupying every brain cell in his head. It was suddenly all that mattered. The Upside Down disappeared. Vecna was gone too. The ache from the grip on his neck was nowhere to be felt, along with the sting on his wrists. There was no red lighting, or dark clouds, or screeching creatures. It was just him and Will.
And Will loved him.
The tears were no longer streaming, they were stuck, just like before. Even the blood from Will’s eyes had stopped. Both of them stayed still, staring into each other's eyes. Another shared look, like they’d done hundreds of times. But this one was different. The same eyes he’d looked into since he was in Kindergarten he now saw in a whole new way. They were no longer just Will's eyes.
They were the only eyes in the world.
They were the hazel eyes that would sometimes change to the prettiest green in the sunlight. They were the eyes that reached through to him, even when Will was taken over by the Mind Flayer. They were the eyes he’d see even when he’d close his eyes.
And it didn’t matter if they were dripping blood, or tears, they were the most beautiful eyes in the world.
Will’s eyes.
And they were perfect.
Will was perfect.
And this moment should have been.
But life wasn’t like that.
Not in Hawkins, and definitely not in the Upside Down.
Mike didn’t even get to say anything in return. Will didn’t get to know what was going through Mike’s mind. All he got was silence, though it wasn’t very silent. In fact the moment between them was broken by the reminder of where they were, and what was about to happen to them.
They weren’t where they should have been. Instead of sitting in Mike’s basement—rain pouring outside, the two of them alone, playing D&D—they were here in the Upside Down, unaware if they’d even survive this battle.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
But instead of Will getting to hear Mike’s voice in return, he heard Vecna’s.
“Did you hear that, Michael?” His voice contrasted Will’s. It was practically torture to hear. After all he’d done to the Party, to Will, even just the sound of him was terrifying.
“Did you hear?” Mike shut his eyes, still struggling against the tree he was strapped to, gasping and clawing to get free, especially as Vecna neared. “Do you hear those dirty things? Minds like his don’t belong in this world, and you agree, don’t you, Michael?”
He wanted to fight. To run to Will. To save them. But he couldn’t. All he could do was cry and shake and choke, trapped in this suffocating moment.
Mike’s heart rate only increased further as Vecna neared him, getting closer with every step.
“But you’re hiding, aren’t you? Hiding behind Eleven, hiding from the world. You’re even hiding in your own mind. But you cannot hide from me, Michael.”
He was feet away now, Mike could feel the absorbed terror burning off of his charred body. The time at the military base was the first time he got to see Vecna in person, making this second. This time was worse. Much, much worse.
“Every thought you have had, everything you have said, everything you are, I know. I’ve been watching you for so very long. I know everything. Just like I know that your mind doesn’t belong here either.”
He knows.
Nobody was supposed to know, not after how hard he fought to hide. To run from what he knew was real. He just didn’t want to accept it. But now it was right in front of him, being forced out of its hiding place, and right in front of the person that was most important to him. He hadn’t wanted Will to know, but now he did. Except now, he knew Will was the same. That would have changed things. It really would have. But now, they were over.
They couldn’t both walk away from this. They’d had countless second chances, close calls, and victories. But Mike wasn’t sure if they’d be so lucky again. All of their chances had been used up.
He wished so badly they could have gone back in time. Stopped hiding from each other. He should have been better. Maybe the truth could have changed things. Maybe they wouldn’t be here right now if Mike stopped being so damn scared.
Will deserved his happy ending.
Mike could’ve been a part of it too. But it was too late. He’d ruined it. There was no going back. They were no longer kids. The stakes were real now.
This wasn’t like one of his D&D campaigns, he couldn’t just write the ending.
“Tell him, Michael,” Vecna growled, voice like sandpaper. “Tell him the truth.”
Mike couldn’t. But this time it wasn’t because he didn’t want Will to know. Now it was because the words physically couldn’t leave his lips. Any attempt to speak just sounded like a wheezy cry. Vecna was taunting him. Taunting them both.
Will still lay hunched over, blood on his face, staring up at Mike. His tear-filled eyes flickered between him and Vecna.
It was Vecna’s world. He had the power. If he wanted to keep them silent, he would. If he wanted to hurt them, he would.
And if he wanted them dead, they’d die.
“What?” Vecna’s voice flooded his ears, ripping his soul apart. “Are you just going to keep hiding? You will, because you are weak. You are a coward, everyone knows it. William knows it.”
Vecna turned to face Will, he wasn’t looking up at them anymore, now he was shaking against the floor. What was Vecna doing to him?
Mike wanted to shout, to break free and yell. He’d even punch Vecna in the face with his bare hand to get to Will. God, he’d do anything.
Mike took a deep, strong breath, hoping the science of the Upside Down would work in the way he’d hoped. Inhaling, he pushed his stomach out as much as he could, clearing room between his skin and the vine. It didn’t give him enough room to shout, but he could whisper.
“Get—“ his voice was raw from being strangled. “Get the hell away from him.”
Vecna tilted his head. What Mike said wouldn’t change anything, but he had to try. Had to say something. But after the vines returned to their original place, all Mike could do was let out angry, huff-like cries. Useless again.
He couldn’t save Will from what he was about to see. Vecna was going to kill him, and Will was going to watch.
“Your minds don’t belong here, and I am going to make sure you know that. Your souls belong with me, in here.”
Vecna brought a clawed finger to his own head and tapped the side of it. That’s what he did, he trapped his victims inside of him forever. Chrissy, Max, maybe even Holly for all he knew, were there.
And now Mike was next.
He didn’t want Will to watch. He wanted him to run. to save himself. Do anything to get his happy ending, even if Mike couldn’t be in it. Just run.
Please run.
Will broke free again just for a second, screaming out with a bloodcurdling rawness. “MIKE!”
Mike shut his eyes, more burning tears ripping through his cheeks. He tried to steady his breath, to calm himself so Will wouldn’t have the horrified, murdered version of him and his head. But even if his outside didn’t show it, on the inside he was sobbing, screaming for all of the lost memories he could have had with Will. Grieving so severely what they could have been, but would never get the chance to. It was all over.
Please just let Will be okay. Maybe Vecna could hear him inside his head, maybe it would make a difference. Of course, it wouldn’t, but even in Mike’s last moments. he had to try and protect him. Something he’d failed to do.
Just not Will. Please don’t hurt Will. Kill me instead of hurting him. Let him go. Just let him go.
But his heart continued thumping in his chest. He wasn’t dead, was he? He felt alive. His blood still rushed, his tears still fell, he still felt the pain around his neck and wrists. He was still alive.
Why was he still alive?
The ringing in his ears was replaced. No longer a silent sting as he tried to quiet the world before he was ultimately taken from it. Instead, it was something far worse.
So, so much worse.
It wasn’t just a scream. It was a raw, agonizing cry. Loud wasn’t the right word, it was deafening, like Vecna had projected it into Mike’s ears with headphones. Mike’s spine felt like lightning, shooting pain through everyone of his nerves. A shock maybe, yet nothing was being physically done to him. It didn’t need to, because this was the worst torture of all.
And Vecna knew that.
He knew everything.
Mike screamed, the sound trapped in his throat. Every single muscle in his body thrashed forward, desperately trying to get out of his trap. He needed to get to Will. Now.
He had to make it stop.
If it were Mike, he could handle it. He could handle the pain being inflicted to him. But what Mike couldn’t handle was watching Will writhe around on the floor, wailing in agony. That was the worst pain of all. Watching it happen to Will.
And Mike didn’t even know what was happening. There was no physical source he could try and stop even if he could break free. There was nothing there. Vecna was killing him from the inside because he knew Mike wouldn’t be able to stop it.
No, no, no. Mike was supposed to die. Not Will.
It was supposed to be me! Kill me! Stop! STOP!
His thoughts were screaming at Vecna, begging for him to stop and take him instead. Everyone he thrashed at the vines they just hugged him closer, but he didn’t care. He’d die trying to get to Will. If that’s what it took, he would.
Then, adding to the screaming, that harrowing voice was back. A musical array of torture singing just for Mike.
“Break free. Break free and go save him.”
The order was simple: just go get Will.
But Vecna was only mocking him. It was impossible for someone like Mike to break through powers like Vecna’s. All Mike could do was cry and fight like he thought there was a chance he could get away. He was lying to himself though. He did that a lot.
Through his blurred vision, his eyes were led to Will, even though he didn’t try to look. Vecna was forcing him to watch. He didn’t even have to use effort with his powers, it was simple. This was easy for him. Just a blink of an eye and Mike’s world crumbled apart.
And why? What for? Mike had no chance of killing Vecna alone. Is that why he was kept alive? Vecna knew just as well as anyone that he was useless. But Will, El, the others were real threats. Not him.
So what was this torture for? He wasn’t a danger to Vecna. Was this just a sick fantasy? Maybe Vecna didn’t even have a plan.
No, not even at a time like this did Mike truly believe that. Vecna always had a plan. That’s why they’d always lose.
It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
“You can’t,” Vecna pushed. “Because you are just as weak as he is.”
Nancy’s past words echoed in his head, about how they could have done something. How he’d just ignored them, saying there was nothing they could have done. But there was. They could have done something. There was so much they could have done to stop all of this.
Just a couple of days ago, he and Will were walking in a field side by side. Bright, happy, smiling. Those boys had no idea what was coming for them. He shouldn’t have walked away after Will shoved him. He should have said something. Done something. Maybe then, somehow, someway, things would be different then they are now.
But he was too scared.
Always just too scared.
Now all of that fear meant nothing. He wasn’t protecting himself from anything anymore. It was pointless, and now Will would suffer for it. Mike would be the reason for Will’s death.
He’d cause his own greatest fear.
And it wouldn’t even be the first time he’d lose him.
Except this time, he wouldn’t come back.
That beautiful face he’d remembered from the field, highlighted by the sun, now had blood leaking down his face from his eyes and nose, even his ears now. Blood splattered on the ground from his lips, blending in with the Upside Down’s haunting red lighting. What was Vecna doing to him?
Ripping his organs apart from the inside? Crushing his heart or his brain with the force of his power? Stabbing him with his own broken bones?
Mike was going to throw up. Just the thought of… God, he could even think about it, let alone watch it happen. Still, nothing changed the fact that it was right there, in front of him, and he couldn’t look away. Even if it ever ended, it would play again in his mind forever, and ever, and ever.
It would never end. He might as well have been dead. Why couldn’t Vecna just kill him instead? Please, just kill him. Don’t make this go on any longer. It probably hadn’t even been a minute, but it stretched on like it was multiple hours.
More time passed, and more, and more. If it were two minutes or six hours, Mike had no clue. The bitter taste of blood trickled down his throat from his trapped screaming. Splitting pain jolted around his wrists, maybe broken but he couldn’t tell. It wasn't his focus. All he knew is that he wished Vecna had killed him and gotten this all over already. He would have even let Vecna steal his soul into his mind realm for all eternity if it meant Will could go home. Anything for this to stop. He’d do anything for him to stop hurting Will. Just please, for the love of God, stop.
And Venca listened.
The screaming stopped and Will laid panting on the floor, a pool of blood spreading around him. Yet, he remained alive. Will was alive.
Then the vines weakened, and Vecna stepped away. Mike’s knees slammed to the floor, sending a shock over his legs. Ignoring the pain, he pushed himself up, limping as quickly as he could to Will’s broken but living body.
“Wi—“ he instantly regretted trying to speak. The pressure had damaged his throat more than he realized. Still, he needed to call for Will. His body’s pain couldn’t keep control of his mind. “Will!”
The sound of his calling was raw, barely even audible. He didn’t care. The physical pain screaming for him to stop meant nothing to him.
Will was all that mattered. Will was all that mattered. Will was all that mattered. Will was all that mattered.
No matter how fast Mike's legs moved him, it wasn’t fast enough. Seconds were hours, minutes were days. He wasn’t even running, yet he was hyperventilating like he’d gone for a ten mile run. He couldn’t tell if his moist face was due to tears or sweat, maybe even blood. Probably some wet, sloppy combination of the three.
It was nothing like Will’s face though. His neck was spotted with popped blood vessels, sweat slicking his skin. Thick clumps of blood hovered on his bottom lip, as well as his nostrils. And his eyes…
His beautiful eyes were now crying a deep red.
“Mike,” he coughed out, bloody saliva spitting as he did.
Mike was only a few feet away, he was so close.
So close.
But his stretched out arms didn’t reach Will in time. Vecna was using him like a dog toy, watching Mike hopelessly chase after him. So Vecna lifted him to where Mike could no longer reach him.
Will was straight up in the air, still as if he were frozen. This was familiar. Mike wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what was happening.
It was what Lucas had said happened to Max.
She floated before her bones were crushed, it killed her too. El brought her back, but it killed her.
It was going to kill Will too, but now El wasn’t there to save him.
“No—no!” Mike tried to scream. “Stop! Let him go!”
Vecna just lifted his hand.
“I told you, Michael." Vecna looked him dead in the eye. “He doesn’t belong here. Neither do you.”
Then, Mike froze, unable to help from below. There was absolutely nothing he could do. He was stuck, useless down there. Pointless. A coward, just like Vecna said.
His heart raced so fast that for a moment he thought it had stopped. The feeling was indescribable. It was watching his entire world be ripped apart in front of his eyes as he stood watching, no way for him to fix it. All his hopes and dreams would die with Will. His world would die with Will.
Will was his world.
And his world was being crushed.
His right arm went first, cracking in three different places. The arm attached to the hand Mike had held as a child, now destroyed, followed by his left leg. Crack, snap.
Each break was a stab to Mike’s gut as he clenched his fists, slowly falling to the ground.
“WILL!” The cry was bloody raw, and despite his throat aching, it was numb. His whole body was. It was his soul watching while trapped inside a frozen body. Every sense was shut down, completely still as his heart ripped itself apart.
Will’s beautiful eyes, the ones Mike treasured so highly, loved so much, were gone. Hollow pits flooding with blood where they were sucked away. He’d never look into Will’s eyes again. Never, ever again.
Then, everything went silent. The Upside Down was empty, just Mike and Will’s hovering body, about to fall. It was only them now. No trees, no lightning, no Venca. Mike shut them all out.
After Vecna decided Will was mangled enough to throw away, he fell, limbs snapped, eyes gone.
Mike lunged forward, catching him the best he could, but still Will hit the ground hard. All Mike’s help did was stop his head from cracking open.
A pulse. Something they’d taken for granted far too many times. Will had a pulse. Mike sobbed cradling him, knowing that heartbeat wouldn’t last long.
Pulling him close, Mike let the tears fall against the top of Will’s head.
“Mike?” Will croaked, hyperventilating now as he stirred in a panic. “It hurts. It hurts so bad.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” It was all he could get out. His gaze flickered all over Will, trying to find something to help even though he knew nothing could. Every bone in his body had been shattered like glass.
“Why, Mike?”
“What?” Mike’s lip shook, tasting the saltiness of tears.
“Why didn’t you save me?” Will sobbed, chest rattling. “You could have saved me. I’m going to die. Mike, I don’t want to die.”
The words slammed Mike like a brick to the face. “W—what? No, Will, I’m—I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I don’t—“
The words were nowhere to be found. What could you say to the love of your life as they slipped away in your arms because you couldn’t save them? Nothing was the right thing to say.
“Mike!” Will wailed, blood from his mouth splashing everywhere. “Don’t let me die! Please, Mike!”
Mike sobbed in terror. He was going to be sick. His stomach must have been ripped to shreds. Oxygen had evaporated, unable to reach his lungs.
“You’re—you’re going to be okay,” Mike lied to both Will and himself.
“No…” Will’s breathing slowed, still shaking with fear. “I’m going to die. I’m going—“ his scratchy voice cracked. “You let me die, Mike.”
“No— I—Will?” Mike blubbered. “Will?”
Nothing.
His breathing stopped.
Then Mike’s did the same.
“WILL?” he screamed, holding his fingers to Will’s damaged neck. No pulse. “WILL!”
No. No. Not yet. Not Will.
Please. Oh God what just happened? Wake up, Mike, this isn’t real. Please just wake up. Snap out of it. Will can't be gone. Not like this. Not so quickly, so violently. He can’t.
“Will wake up.” Mike shook him, still cradling him as close as he could. “Please Will. I can’t lose you—I can’t. Will. Will! Please just wake up. Just for a little longer. I—“
The words hesitated on his tongue, even though what he said wouldn’t matter. Will was gone. It was too late to tell him. Mike had to say it. Just once. Even if Will wouldn’t get to hear it while he was alive.
“I love you, Will.”
Only silence followed.
This was no fairytale where the princess would wake up after the tears of true love saved her from death. Mike’s tears just fell on Will’s bloody, still face. He didn’t wake up miraculously. They didn’t kiss and run off to their perfect ending.
Mike couldn’t just write their ending. Will was dead, never to wake up again, and Mike cried. He was no prince rushing to save the day. He had lost Will, and just like Will had said, his last words: Mike didn’t save him.
That boy he’d known since kindergarten. That boy he’d spent almost his entire life with. That boy who was the sweetest, most accepting boy in the entire world. That boy Mike had spent forever loving, was gone. Still. Cold. Mangled. Dead.
So much potential, so many memories, all gone, dying with him.
Mike died with him too.
A part of his soul was ripped from him. The part he couldn’t live without. The part he wished he would have loved better earlier, and been better to. Too late now.
He was really gone.
Oh God, he was actually dead. No, he can’t be dead. This is Will we’re talking about. Mike’s Will can’t be dead. But…he was.
And Mike wished he were dead with him.
A voice echoed then.
Not Vecna’s. Not Mike’s.
Not Will’s…
Someone else’s, breaking Mike from the numb trance he was in. Slowly, face stiff from the sting of endless tears, he turned his head, attempting to find the source of the sound. The voice was familiar, strangely familiar, but he couldn’t place it, like a distant dream. There was nobody around, not physically, but someone was definitely there.
Maybe someone who could help. Help Will. It wasn’t too late. He could save Will. He could.
Desperation tugged at him, he needed to find help. He needed to find this mystery voice.
“He—“ Mike’s voice strained. “Hello?”
It continued, but not answering him. Just continuing to speak. Or sing.
Sing?
It was singing. Someone was singing.
“Hello?” Mike shouted this time.
No response, but more lyrics.
“Help me! Plea—please!” Mike refused to let go of Will. Holding his body even closer since the voice appeared.
The lyrics were still somewhat blurry, ears still numb, attempting to return to their normal state. They’d shut themselves off as a defense mechanism, desperate to block out the sound of screams. But now they had to fix themselves, hear what was being said to him. Or to someone?
No, it felt targeted to him. These lyrics were for him, special even when he couldn’t yet tell what they were saying.
“Please!” His cries hurt more every time, burning his already damaged vocal cords. “Can anybody hear me? Help! HELP!”
Nobody came to his aid. Well, not in the way he thought. Even when no one ran to him, helping him and Will out of the Upside Down. It still was as if the voice was helping him, just by being there. It was unexplainable.
King.
King.
The first word Mike picked up on.
As soon as he caught that word, the more lyrics kept flooding in. He knew exactly who it was too. That voice was all too familiar, how had it taken him so long to recognize?
Now where was it coming from?
He had to follow it, he just knew it. It was calling for him. A guide out of the dark.
A small crack of light caught the corner of his eye, bringing it to his attention instantly. In the middle of the dark, cold pit of the Upside Down was splitting open. Sunlight.
The right side up. The Upside Down was cracking into the real world. Just a small gap, slowly growing until it was just large enough for Mike to fit through it. Faintly under the sound of the music, there was an array of voices. The party was calling for him, trying to pull him from the Upside Down. Had Eleven opened a gate? Had she found them?
The song was just the power he needed to get back to them.
He didn’t question why, or how? He needed help. They both did.
There was still a chance. Will was going to be okay. Mike pushed away the fact his heart was stopped, his pulse gone. His once warm skin turning cold. His limbs and eyes…
No.
Will was going to be okay.
He had to.
“Don’t go to them, Michael.” Vecna was back, somewhere unknown behind him. “They don’t really care about you. Think of how long you’ve had to hide from them. You belong here.”
“No,” Mike said through tears, filled with rage and determination to run. To escape.
Vecna couldn’t win again. He couldn’t just take Will from him again and keep the victory. Mike sure as hell wouldn’t leave Will there with him in this place.
Ignoring Vecna to the best of his ability, Mike threw Will’s arms over his shoulder, grunting from effort as he attempted to lift him. He had grown a lot in the last two years. Even if he was still shorter than Mike, he was much heavier, especially now with the dead weight.
The…
Mike swallowed the lump rising in his throat.
On a normal occasion, there was a high chance Mike wouldn’t even be able to carry Will. But now, the adrenaline and desperation forced him to be stronger. Not being able to lift him wasn’t an option. He’d stay here with Will before he ever left him.
Struggling to his feet, he held one of his hands to Will’s back and the other to the back of his thighs. Once Mike was standing, he held him tight, he wouldn’t let him fall. He didn’t care how long it took, both of them would make it back to the right side up. Vecna would have to kill him first if he wanted to take Will.
The music was louder now, voice clear. A perfect guide to the way out.
Each step made Will feel heavier and heavier, Mike swore he was going to fall. But he couldn’t. No matter how much his body ached or thought he’d never make it, he pushed on, moving faster with every second. If that wasn’t a big enough worry, Vecna didn’t want him to leave. Whether Vecna was trying to get to Will or Mike, he didn’t know, but he didn’t care. Vecna wouldn’t take either of them. Not if Mike had any control at all.
“You’ll never escape me, Michael,” Vecna echoed from behind him. “Will tried, and look at him now. Broken. Dead. But don’t worry, you will be with him soon enough. So run now if you want. It’s only a matter of time before you’re mine.”
No. Mike cleared him out, focusing on the lyrics. Will was not dead. And Mike didn’t care if Vecna came for him after this. After he got Will to safety. They’d figure things out then. There’d be time to come up with a plan. Now he just had to get out.
Run, Mike. As fast as you can. His life depends on it. Will's life depends on it. Because he’s not dead. He’s not. He’s not.
Save him. Get him to help. They can bring him back. El can bring him back, like she did with Max. Right? Right?
He wasn’t even sure where El was. Was she in here in the Upside Down with them? Had she found them? He didn’t know.
And the right side up seemed to just get farther and farther. As he carried Will, moving his feet quick as he could, tears still flooded down his face, stained with rage. Like even though his mind denied the fact that Will was gone, his body knew. After all, it felt his still breathless body. Living people had a pulse. For a science nerd, Mike sure was ignoring the facts. But he couldn’t help it. Mike had always been stubborn.
The lyrics, the sound of the party yelling for him, Will's broken corpse in his arms were the only things keeping him going. They forced his body forward, step after step as the world around him crumbled, hope fading away.
Literally crumbled. Trees slammed to the ground, rumbling beneath Mike’s aching feet. Cracks split from the floor, threatening to rip the Upside Down to pieces. Shards fell from the sky, stabbing down into the vines that wrapped around the solid land. Yet they all avoided Mike. The song was like a force field warping over him, shielding him from the destruction of the Upside Down.
It didn’t make sense, but it didn’t have to make sense. Mike would take any help he could get.
So even when trees slammed down beside him, blood-like liquid splashed up from the ground, or when all hope for Will was fading as he grew colder, further and further gone, Mike kept his focus, paying attention to nothing but the voice singing about a forbidden kiss and the shame being on the other side. Letting the group's calls drag him forward. Through the tears and distance, he couldn’t even tell who it was on the other side. He just knew he had to get to them.
The distance between the two boys and the door-like hole was closing. Mike’s legs were numb, desperate to fall. Just a little further. So close—
With a jerk, Mike flew forward, foot stuck, plummeting into a shallow puddle of bloody sludge. Coughing in an attempt to get it out of his mouth, since it had soaked through his clenched teeth. He spit it out as quickly as he could, wiping the thick liquid from his face just enough to see again.
Will wasn’t far from him, both of them so close to the exit. The party was still a blur, not just from the blood and tears blocking his vision, but from the sheer rush of it all.
Mike reached, trying to pull himself to Will but the breath was snatched from his lungs. Before he knew it Will was getting further away. But Will wasn’t moving.
Mike was.
The rough rocks and cracks scraped his stomach, stinging and pounding against his ribs. Instinctively, his hands try to find hold of something to stop him from being dragged any further, but to no luck. Anything he could grab was impossible, he was moving too quickly.
Squirming and scrambling, Mike tumbled into his back trying to find the source of the sudden attack.
Wrapped around his ankle pulling him in the direction of Vecna was a vine, just like the one that’d strangled him minutes before.
“No,” Mike yelped, bringing a foot up, then slammed it down against the vine to get free.
The tentacle didn’t budge, only held tighter.
Mike brought his foot back, kicking again, and again. Over and over until he realized it wasn’t working. With every second he was growing further from Will, from the party.
He had to get away.
Vecna couldn’t take him yet.
Lunging forward, Mike grabbed hold of the vine with his hands. The desperation took hold of him, leading him to do whatever he had to do.
So he opened his mouth wide and sunk his teeth deep into the vine, tearing through it the best he could. He blinked out the tears and held back the vomit. Throw up later.
Later. Later. Everything was later.
A fluid filled his mouth, tasting vile and running down his throat and around his gums. Still, the vine squealed and retreated back to its master.
Forcing himself back up to his feet, barely able to stand, he pushed forward. He didn’t even spit out the substance in his mouth, just let it slowly spill out over his bottom lip and chin. Every part of his body ached, none more than his heart. It raced so fast he could hardly tell if it even continued to beat. God, he was so scared. Funny how Vecna’s goal was to make his victims weak, yet without the fear he’d installed in Mike, he would have never been able to do the things he was. Not carry Will, not run after going through so much physical damage. The only thing he’d done before, even without Vecna’s influence, was believe Will was still alive.
Except the first time, he didn’t watch him die. Didn’t hold his cold dead body in his arms. Didn’t deserve the blame.
But this time…
No. This time he just had to run.
Run out of the Upside Down.
Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.
So he did. He ran like hell. Feet slamming down one after mother, face twisted with horror and rage, still slick from the bloody mess he’d fallen into. Determination and fear was all there was inside of him. For a minute it didn’t even feel like he was there. His body had one goal: get out.
He closed the distance quick, much quicker than he’d ever run before, despite his ribs being raw, ankle sprained, or whatever was wrong with him.
A few feet more.
Mike grabbed Will once again, refusing to look at his face this time. He threw one of Will’s fractured arms over his shoulder doing his best to lift him forward. But it was okay, the distance was short. They were right there.
And Will was going to be okay.
But now, since there were only a few steps remaining, Mike knew, he always knew. Will was dead. He’d seen it with his own two eyes.
One final desperate and horrified gasp for air, and he stepped through the gate.
But it wasn’t a gate.
Instead of stepping into the real world, Mike jerked, falling into nothing. Will was gone, his aching was gone. The world was black.
His heart skipped a beat, vision gone.
Then it was back.
Mike's eyes jolted open, the world fell. A massive gulp of air filled his lungs, his stomach dropping. Everything was dizzy. Will was no longer in his grasp, nothing in his body physically hurt like it did before. What was happening?
He had no idea.
Then, his feet slammed, and hard, sending him falling over with them. Brightness flooded his senses. The sunlight.
The sun.
He was in the right side up.
Then he knew.
His stomach dropping, the slam against the ground. He had fallen, likely from a somewhat high distance.
Bowie still sung, quieter now. Headphones.
That’s when it clicked.
Oh my God.
Mike’s eyes flew all over, trying to take on everything he’d just seen. At least, he thought he’d seen. Trembling, his hands pressed against the grass beneath him. His body was dying, at least it felt like it was.
Was he dying?
Or had he just survived the impossible?
“Mike?!” A voice pulled the headphones away from him. “Mike?!”
That’s when Mike realized he was screaming a raw animal-like sound. Slowly, he stopped it until it was hushed into a shivering whimper. What he didn’t stop was thrashing his head about, expecting something to jump out at him, still in disbelief of what he’d just escaped.
“Mike?!” The same voice.
No. It couldn’t be.
Mike’s vision slowly started to fade back to normal, but he didn’t have to see. Even if he were dead, he’d know that voice.
Will.
Mike instantly reached out to him, who was crouching in front of him, face pale and wet. Grabbing onto his coat, Mike pulled him forward. He didn’t have to pull hard since Will practically leapt to him.
Will was breathing. His eyes were there. Limbs all in the right place.
Mike held him tight, refusing to let go. Will did the same, both boys sobbing against each other. Both had thought they’d lost the other.
“You’re safe, you’re safe,” Will assured him. “It’s going to be okay.”
Mike just wailed hysterically, body still petrified and trembling. His eyes were so wide they stung. Shivering skin cold against Will’s contrasting body heat.
“I’m here, don’t worry. He didn’t get you.”
He didn’t get you.
Mike escaped Vecna. Even in his own mind, he got away.
He got away.
He thought he was going to die.
He thought Will was dead.
Oh God it had been so scary. Mike was so damn scared. Vecna broke him. He thought they’d both die. He’d thought they’d lost. Vecna was in his mind, torturing him with all of his greatest fears.
But now Will was here, alive, cradling him like he was the most important thing in the world to him.
Will was alive.
So Mike wouldn’t wait around for another chance to be wasted. He wouldn’t lose Will again.
He wouldn’t be scared.
Mike was done running from himself.