Chapter Text
Mike just knew something was going to go wrong.
He had never exactly been an optimist, and the last few years hadn’t done much to help. He and his friends had endured so many catastrophes, and with each narrow escape, Mike kept hoping that the danger had passed only to be proven wrong every time. So his hopes weren’t high that this time would be any different. Try as he might to think positive thoughts, he couldn’t stop a feeling of impending doom from plaguing him. Even as he crossed his fingers in his pockets and prayed to whatever god might be listening, he couldn’t stop terrifying hypotheticals, nagging worries, and images of dead loved ones from cycling through his mind.
As his worry reached a fever pitch, Mike gave himself a little shake and turned to his best source of encouragement and positivity, who was sitting a few feet from him on an uncomfortable chair on what remained of the second floor of the Creel house. Through the drifting spores, he saw Will’s face lit by the dim lantern on the table between them and the hellish glow of the gate in the center of the destroyed house. Whatever positivity he hoped to glean from his best friend was not on display. Will’s face was lined with anxiety. He was picking nervously at the sleeve of his sweater, and his eyes were fixed dead ahead in the direction of the gate. His shoulders were tense, and his knee was bouncing anxiously. Despite his nervous state, Will’s presence managed to soothe Mike just a bit. However, his feeling of temporary calm was immediately overshadowed by a fierce desire to help. Seeing Will in this state made Mike feel slightly ashamed of his own worries. Will had far more reason to fear the operation going wrong.
Mike longed to remove Will’s pain and worries in any way he could. He wanted to wrap his arms around Will and shield him from the world that had treated him so terribly. That wouldn’t be weird, would it? He was just concerned for his friend, as anyone would be if their friend had gone through what Will had.
He decided not to act on that particular impulse. He didn’t want to alienate Will when they were finally starting to reform the close friendship that they had had since the age of five. All the awkwardness of Spring Break in California was forgotten, as was the tense conflict from the previous summer. The high stakes of life in the apocalypse had driven the two of them back together. After a full year of stupidly pushing Will away, Mike had finally gotten his head screwed back on right, helped by his breakup with El. Without a romantic relationship to distract him and complicate things, he and Will had fallen back into their old ways. There was still some lingering tension between them, but it wasn’t bad tension. They were both perfectly friendly to each other and were able to talk as freely as they ever had, but Mike could tell there was something on Will’s mind which he wasn’t sharing with him. He was sure he could only tell because he knew him so well.
It was clear that whatever Will was hiding from him was not the cause of his present anxiety, however. Squashing down the instinct to physically reach out to Will, Mike opted to try talking to him instead.
“Hey,” he said quietly. Will started and looked at him. His features softened almost imperceptibly, but the change wasn’t missed by Mike, who felt his own heart flutter slightly. “You okay?”
There was an instant in which anxiety still showed on Will’s face, but then on went the mask of forced calm. “Yeah,” he replied dismissively. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Mike responded with a look that made it clear that he had seen through Will’s façade. The mask crumbled. “I’m just a little nervous.”
Mike shared the sentiment, and though he knew Will would see through his mask as easily as Mike had seen through Will’s, Mike projected confidence he didn’t feel. “I’m sure it’ll all work out. El’s gonna close the gates and everything’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.”
Will’s expression told Mike that he hadn’t been very convincing. “But… don’t you think it seems too easy? We just walked in here, no problem.”
Will had identified the exact worry Mike was grappling with. Today they were closing the rift. For months they had been waiting for an opportunity to reverse the damage Vecna had done to their town. They had taken shelter in their homes, the Byers living at the Wheeler house. They had patrolled the streets, monitored the movements of monsters from the Upside Down, and prepared for a battle that never came. It just seemed like something serious should have happened by now. Finally, after months of restraining her newly reacquired power, saving her strength as much as possible, El was ready to close the gates and stop the Upside Down from bleeding any farther into Hawkins.
Hopper wasn’t happy about the plan, but El had begged him to let her try, refusing to take “no” for an answer. Mike didn’t particularly like the plan either (after what had happened the last time El had overexerted herself), but he had long since learned that he should have some faith in El’s knowledge of her own strength. Once Mike had gotten past the concern for his ex-girlfriend-now-best-friend, he had to admit he was proud of her. Hopper had tried extremely hard to put his foot down, but El had made it clear that she was going to try her plan whether he let her or not. Eventually, he gave up and insisted that she let him help. Mike loved her strategy, as he had used the exact same one on Steve almost two years ago, insisting on setting fire to the tunnels to assist El until Steve had had no choice but to let them, even taking the lead at Dustin’s insistence. Mike liked to think that maybe he had taught El to be so stubborn. Hopper wouldn’t like that idea, even if his attitude toward Mike had improved since Mike had stopped dating his daughter.
The Party and their allies had gladly taken up roles in the operation, splitting into groups and positioning themselves at each of the four gates to monitor them for activity and ensure that they all closed properly. That’s what led Mike and Will to be in this half-destroyed, creepy husk of a house at this moment. Will was right. Getting in had been far too easy and Mike’s instincts were screaming at him to abort.
Mike decided to be honest with Will. “Yeah, I know. Do you think it’s a trap?”
Will shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. But… how would letting El close the gates be a trap?”
“You can’t feel anything? You said he was still hurt, right”
“Yeah, he is, but he’s definitely starting to get stronger again.” He paused, wearing a look of concentration. Then he sighed. “I can’t feel anything right now, though.”
“Well… even if he’s getting stronger, so is El.” Mike took comfort in that fact. El had her powers back and they were stronger than ever before, even without accounting for the fact that she had been conserving her strength for months. As long as they had her, Mike couldn’t feel too worried. “Maybe he isn’t strong enough to stop her yet.”
“Yeah, but he should be strong enough to do something. I just can’t see him letting her undo all his hard work. Maybe… maybe he has something planned and he’s going to do it once she starts closing the gates. Or maybe he’s sending monsters to stop her right now and we just haven’t heard about it. Or maybe-”
“Will, stop,” said Mike, firmly putting an end to Will’s spiral of anxiety. “El is strong, and she’s with Hopper and your mom. I’m worried, too. I’m really worried, but we have to try something before Vecna gets any stronger. We might not get another chance.”
Will nodded and muttered more to himself than to Mike, “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right… Sorry.”
“It’s ok,” Mike said soothingly. “Just… try to think about something else for a little while.”
“Like what?”
“How about what we’re going to do once the gates are closed.”
Will grimaced. “Figure out how to kill Henry? I mean… even once the gates are closed, he’ll still be alive.” He stared straight ahead toward the gate as he spoke, seeming lost in thought.
“Yeah, but we’ll have bought ourselves some time,” said Mike in slight exasperation. “I meant what are we going to do for fun?”
Will’s shoulders seemed to relax slightly in spite of himself and his harsh gaze softened. “I don’t know, maybe…” He trailed off.
“What?”
“I was thinking maybe some D&D? I know it’s stupid but…” Will’s nervous tone made Mike feel like a complete asshole, which he was of course. It was as though Will expected Mike to yell at him for the suggestion. Given past events maybe this was a reasonable expectation. Mike had to correct that immediately.
“No! No, it’s not stupid at all. I think it’s a great idea!” Will finally met Mike's gaze, a hopeful flicker in his eyes. Mike felt his heart lift slightly, and he continued more enthusiastically. “We can get the original Party back together like old times. And maybe we can even watch a movie, and everyone can sleep over like when we were kids.”
Will’s face broke into the first genuine smile he had worn in days, and the effect was remarkable. Mike felt like he was staring into a sunrise.
“Really?” Will sounded like he didn’t dare believe what he had heard.
“Yeah, of course! It’ll be fun,” said Mike enthusiastically. “I’ll need to come up with a campaign, though. We could work together on it if you want.” Will’s smile widened and Mike’s heart fluttered again. “I haven’t been a DM in forever, but after listening to Eddie so much, I’m actually really-”
The crackle of the radio broke Mike out of his emersion and he saw Will tense again as well. Damn it, he thought to himself. They both stood up, suddenly alert, and Mike grabbed the supercom from the table and walked toward the edge of the floor to get a better view of the gate.
"El is ready to go," came the gruff voice of Hopper from the supercom. Mike held it up and prepared to respond as Hopper continued. "Requesting confirmation that all groups are in position. Group Alpha, please respond, over."
At once, Nancy's voice replaced Hopper's. "Group Alpha in position, no activity to report, over." A glance at Will told Mike that he, too, felt slight relief. Nancy and Jonathan had reached the gate in the trailer park with no resistance.
"Group Beta, please respond, over," came Hopper's voice again.
"Group Beta in position, Watergate is secure, over," came Dustin's voice, barely concealing a giggle. Mike shot Will a grin, which he returned. Dustin had agreed to take up a position for this operation, with the only condition being that he wouldn't set foot in the trailer park. Considering what had happened last time he was there, Mike didn't blame him. At any rate, he was glad Dustin was finding humor in something, even if it was from his own poorly timed joke. Mike could almost hear Steve's eyes rolling from across town where he sat with Dustin.
Hopper made no comment on Dustin's stab at comedy when he next spoke, though his voice did sound slightly more exasperated. "Group Charlie, please respond, over."
"Group Charlie in position, over." Lucas, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in a joking mood, not that he ever was these days. Again, Mike couldn't blame him. Like Dustin, Lucas's involvement in this operation was conditional: he would not go anywhere near the Creel house. Instead, he had taken up a post near the gate on the road where Fred Benson had been killed, accompanied by Erica, who refused to be benched, and Robin, who had offered to go along and attempt to corral the siblings (mainly Erica).
This left Mike and Will to watch the gate at the Creel house.
"Group Delta, please respond, over."
Mike pressed the button on the walkie and responded, "Group Delta in position, ready to go." He paused for a second and glanced at Will.
You're the heart...
"You can do this, El," he added with as much conviction as he could muster. Will gave him an approving nod and another small smile. Mike stared back, slightly transfixed for a few seconds before remembering to add, "Over."
"All groups stay alert and report any problems right away," Hopper said, and Mike felt Will tense with anticipation next to him. "Operation proceeding in five..."
Here goes nothing, thought Mike.
"Four..."
Something’s going to go wrong, repeated the anxious, nagging voice in the back of Mike’s mind.
"Three..."
Shut up, Mike scolded himself. Everything is going to be fine.
"Two..."
Mike looked over at Will, who was looking more anxious by the second. Think about Will, he told himself. El’s going to close the gates, and we’re all going to play D&D, and everything’s gonna be fine. We’ll all be safe and it’ll be just like when we were kids. He held onto the idea like a drowning man clutching at a life preserver.
"One."
At first nothing seemed to happen. Then, there was a distant rumbling, and the ground began to shake. Glancing through the shattered front window, Mike could see that the rift stretching toward the center of Hawkins seemed to be mending itself. Rock was shifting and the ominous red glow was fading, leaving behind rough but intact terrain.
Mike thought the news would probably call this another earthquake, maybe an aftershock. He wondered if it would become yet another thing somehow blamed on Hellfire Club. He figured it was unlikely. Once everyone realized the town was back to normal and the "gate to hell" was closed, they would find someone else to give credit to. They would say their prayers were answered and God would get all the credit, even though half the members of Hellfire were choosing to risk their lives tonight, standing guard to ensure that the gates were closed.
No, Mike was sure that when everything was over, he and his friends would go right back to being treated like something nasty on the sole of everyone's shoes. His one comforting thought was that at least now he wouldn't face being at the bottom of the food chain alone. Will was back by his side.
He glanced over at Will and saw that he had returned to anxiously watching the gate. Mike could tell that he still had a feeling something was going to go wrong. Mike wanted to comfort him, but he knew his words would sound empty. Will would not breathe easily until the gates were closed and Vecna was dead. He glanced down at Will's hand, which was clenched and trembling at his side. Mike itched to reach out and grab it, just to calm Will down a bit. That wouldn't be a big deal, right? Friends holding hands would be perfectly normal in a situation like this.
Before he could act on his impulse, the lantern on the table flickered. Mike saw Will jump and they both looked over at it. Mike wondered if Henry could be here. Will would surely know. Mike glanced up but saw no signs of physical discomfort. No telltale hand on the back of his neck. The light flickered again. One thing was certain: something was moving on the other side. Seconds ticked by with the light blazing steadily and both boys kept their eyes fixed firmly on the bulb.
Finally, Mike couldn't stand the tension anymore. He tried to keep the fear out of his voice as he spoke. "Do you think that's-"
The demodog leapt out from the gap in the floor and barreled into Will's side before Mike could do anything.
"WILL!" Mike yelled in alarm.
Will hit the floor hard and the demodog landed on top of him. The scene was so horrible and familiar, that for a moment Mike felt like he was 13 years old again, watching Bob Newby get torn apart. Bob, who had risked his life to save theirs and who, of all people, didn't deserve such a horrible fate. Of course, nobody deserved a fate like that, except maybe Dr. Brenner or Henry himself, but Bob especially didn't, and neither did Will.
No, thought Mike. No. You're not taking Will.
Mike reached over to his backpack to retrieve his weapon. Hopper had insisted that everyone become proficient with weaponry just in case they ever needed to defend themselves. Mike didn't need to be told twice, but he always seemed to lack the coordination and steady hand required to accurately fire a gun. He wisely decided to avoid firearms in combat, convinced that he was likely to shoot one of his friends by accident if he wasn't careful, especially in a state of panic. He had borrowed Steve's nail bat for some practice and found it to be much more comfortable. However, not wanting anyone to think he was copying Steve Harrington, he had sought a different weapon. In the end, he had become attached to a machete that he had found at War Zone, which he still couldn't believe was a real store. The weapon felt right in his hand. Perhaps he liked to imagine he was a paladin, even though he hadn't acted like one in a long time, if ever. Either way, Mike thought that a machete was an undeniably badass weapon, and he could certainly use it effectively, so he had gladly claimed it as his.
He opened the bag and had barely gripped the handle of the blade when there was a patter of feet and a second demodog leapt onto Mike. He crashed to the floor, hitting his head very hard on the leg of the table. Fighting through the pain, he rolled onto his back and was greeted by the sight of the demodog's open maw lined with rows of needle-like teeth. Before it could clamp around his face, he managed to close his left hand around the monster's throat, and he pushed it back with as much force as he could manage. The clawed front feet scrabbled in midair, barely an inch from Mike's chest. As it began to leave painful scratches along his bicep, Mike managed to get a handle on his blade and swung it into the flank of the demodog. Dark and foul-smelling blood spilled across Mike's front as the monster shrieked. Mike shoved it to the side where it hit the floor. He raised the blade over his head and brought it down on the exposed neck of the creature.
He looked up, expecting to see what was left of Will. For maybe half a second, he was relieved to see that Will was alive. Then, he noticed that his friend was being dragged backward by the ankles, which were now wrapped in thick black vines that led over the edge of the broken second floor of the Creel house and down into the gate. Mike lunged toward the vines hoping to sever them, but he was intercepted by the demodog that had previously pinned Will down. It crashed into his side, sending him sprawling across the floor. His machete flew out of his hand, skittered across the floor, and dropped right over the edge and into the gate. Mike barely had time to curse himself for having butterfingers at the worst time possible when he saw a far worse sight. Will was trying desperately to resist the pull of the vines around his legs, but his efforts were futile. Even as Mike watched, his legs disappeared over the edge.
"MIKE!" cried Will, skinning his palm on the floor in an attempt to find something, anything, to hold onto. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Mike rammed his shoulder into the demodog (which had been sinking its claws into his back) with as much force as he could manage, sending it skidding back across the floor. He scrambled to his feet and dove toward Will. His hand closed around Will's, and Will's other hand gripped Mike's wrist desperately. Mike made to reach out with his other hand, but the vines gave an almighty lurch. For barely a second, Mike's feet tried to gain traction, but he soon found himself being dragged over the edge and he only just managed to fling out a hand and grab the edge of the broken floor.
Time seemed to slow down. Above him lay his supercom, his only chance of calling for help, discarded in the frenzy to help Will. Beyond it lay his bag, full of supplies that were completely useless to him now. Reaching for either one would mean letting go of Will. The force of the tugging vines and Will's weight made Mike feel like his arm might pop out of its socket, and his fingers were being scraped raw against the wooden ledge above him. Mike looked down and saw the vines snaking their way up Will's waist and knew that even on solid ground there would be no way to tug him free. Beyond that was the ominous red glow of the gate. He met Will's eyes which were glistening with tears.
"Let me go, Mike," he said, his voice quavering.
Mike shook his head at once. "No! No way!"
"You can't pull me up. Please… please just let me go." His breaths were ragged. Every word seemed to cause him terrible pain.
Mike looked around. Vines were shifting at the edge of the gate and the light from the lamp on the floor above was becoming intensely bright. El was still doing her job, dutifully closing the gates without knowing that Will Byers would soon be trapped on the other side. As it was, his legs were already through the membrane separating Hawkins from the Upside Down. If the gate closed now, would Will be cut in half like Jason had been? The thought made Mike feel sick. Yet, Will was right. There was no way to pull him up.
Mike wanted to cry at the injustice. How could Will, the most gentle and caring person in the world, be destined for this fate? He had survived the Upside Down against all odds, survived possession and being burned alive, been hunted by a giant flesh monster, and been forced to flee thousands of miles for a chance at safety, only to somehow be dragged back to Hawkins and pulled into the hell he had already escaped from. Will, the boy who had suffered so much yet still remained the same selfless, humble, wonderful person Mike had walked up to on the swings all those years ago, was being sentenced to a slow death, scared and alone in the Upside Down. Mike couldn't save him, but he couldn't let him go either. Letting go would be no different from killing Will himself, and he knew that losing his best friend again would destroy him, too. He had already lived through the hell of that reality during that fateful week in 1983.
Memories sharp as photographs flashed through Mike's mind. Hopper standing before him, delivering the worst news he had ever received. Mounting despair as days passed with no sign of Will. The sinking feeling in his chest as his gaze fell on a tiny body in the quarry. A clatter of pebbles and water far below him.
Mike's heart seemed to twist at the memory. He let out a slow breath of resignation. There was only one thing to do. He had known it from the moment he grabbed Will's hand.
"Mike, don't!" Mike's eyes snapped back to Will's. Will knew what he was going to do, because he knew Mike better than anyone, and could read him like no one else could. Will looked terrified. His hazel eyes were wide. He was sweaty, his hair was sticking to his face, and his cheek was scraped and bloody from where it had hit the floor. Mike thought he had never looked better. As he stared at his best friend, a thousand memories flashed through his mind, these ones infinitely more pleasant. He almost smiled in spite of the situation. He would never find another person like Will, because there was no one else like Will. The thought of what would be lost if he let go is what made up his mind.
"Please! Just let go! You don't deserve to be stuck down there!" Will was pleading as though his own life depended on Mike's survival.
"And you do?!" Mike asked, his heart breaking at the idea that Will thought he deserved any of this. "I'm not letting you go back down there alone! No way!"
"Mike..." Will croaked. "I..." He knew Will was trying to say goodbye, but he couldn't let him. If Will said it, it would mean Mike would lose him forever. He couldn't let it happen.
"No! I'm not letting you go!" Mike yelled. He had spent years kicking himself for letting Will leave his house that fateful evening. He could have gone with him. He could have asked his mom to let him stay the night. He could've done something. He should have done something. But he didn't, and Will had almost paid the price with his life. That could not happen again, no matter what.
"Mike, El’s closing the gate. What if there's no way back this time?" Will was losing composure. His chin was trembling with the effort to keep his emotions under control.
Mike held his expression firmly in place. If there was no way back, that was all the more reason to make sure Will wasn't alone.
"MIKE!"
But in spite of himself, Mike thought of Nancy. She wasn't always the nicest sister, and he was certainly not the nicest brother, but she would still mourn his death. And his mother. Would she even be allowed to know why he was gone? Holly would grow up without her big brother. Lucas and Dustin would be devastated by the loss of half their party. El would blame herself for trapping Mike and Will in the Upside Down. His life wasn't always perfect, but it was still life. He still had people he loved and who loved him. There were still good times that he got to spend with the people who mattered most to him. He still got to feel sunlight on his face. If he let go of Will, he would have that all back.
But the price would be too high. He knew he would never be able to enjoy any of it without Will. He would never be able to look Jonathan or Joyce in the eye again, nor would he be able to look himself in the mirror if he knew he had given up on Will, even when no help was possible. He would spend the rest of his life wondering what would have happened if he had moved Will away from the edge, if he had kept his weapon in his hand from the moment they had entered the house, or if he had told Will everything he wanted to tell him when he had the chance. Those thoughts would chip away at him until there was nothing left but burning regret and lingering grief. He fought to keep his face stubbornly determined, even as these thoughts churned inside his mind.
Mike's fingers were slipping on the ledge. The sides of the gate were closing in. He knew he only had seconds.
"Mike! Think about this! If you let go you'll be stuck down there! You'll die!" A tear rolled down Will's cheek. “Please…” His voice broke as he made his plea. “Please don't do this! IT’S CRAZY!”
Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy.
Me too.
Well, if we're both going crazy, we'll go crazy...
"Together", Mike murmured to himself.
"WHAT?!" Will yelled.
"I said we would go crazy together, Will! Together!"
Mike could hear vines slithering across the walls around him, retreating into the gate. He knew the light from the lamp above was becoming blindingly bright as the gates prepared to close. He could feel the air around him becoming clean and warm for the first time in months. The dark clouds outside were dissipating and a golden stream of late afternoon sunlight finally punched through the storm and lit up the room. Yet he had no desire to stay here. He didn't look around. He could only see Will, bathed in the golden light, who seemed to understand at last that there was no way to change Mike's mind.
Without another glance at the world to which he belonged, Mike took a deep breath and let go of the ledge. He gripped Will's hand tightly as he plummeted down toward the closing gate and burst through into the dark and the cold.