Chapter Text
“Everything would be better if you just died,” a voice sneers in the back of his mind. Will takes another step, toes hovering over the edge of the quarry. It’s a thought he’s had multiple times, ever since Lonnie would complain about the expenses, or mom would pick up extra shifts to be able to afford his art supplies.
But since Vecna, a new thought has been circulating in his head. If he’s connected to the hivemind, and feels its pain, then in theory, the opposite should also be true. If he dies, so does the hivemind.
It’d make sense as to why Vecna’s kept him alive.
“If you… if you do decide to do this, I’ll be there for mom,” a voice says. Will slightly turns his head to find Jonathan longingly looking at him, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. It’s supposed to be a comforting thought. Supposed to.
Will smiles, reaching an arm out towards his brother. Jonathan steps forward, wrapping both his arms around Will’s neck. They hug for a moment as Will steels himself.
The next second, he twists their bodies around, bringing his leg up and kicking Jonathan in the chest. He watches his brother’s eyes widen, a scream ripping out of his throat as he falls into the quarry out of sight.
Will watches without an ounce of guilt. Hell, he’s annoyed. Rolling his eyes, he turns to look at the empty hills behind him, “come out.”
Mike’s staring wide eyed at him, jaw open slackly in a way that’s so… Mike. Exactly how he remembers him. But that’s it, this is just Mike from his memories. Not the real Mike.
“I said, come out Vecna.”
Mike’s face morphs, an unsettling smile taking shape. “William, you’ve always been different, haven’t you.”
Will ignores the anxiety taking over his face at seeing Mike like this, keeping his voice neutral, “why did you bring me here, Vecna?”
“Oh, putting on a brave face after getting your powers?” He laughs. Slow and condescending. Will’s glare doesn’t waver. In the blink of an eye, he’s no longer standing at the quarry, instead the world around him is red.
Black vines creep up off the ground, shooting straight for him. Will grunts, raising his hand. The vines stop dead in their tracks, levitating in the air before crumbling into dust. Vecna laughs, like he was expecting that, stepping forward.
“William, you are going to help me… one last time,” Vecna says. It’s said like a simple fact. The sky is blue, grass is green, and Will is going to join Vecna’s mission in destroying the world.
“Never,” he bristles, wiping his nose, “your tricks won’t work on me. You can’t trick me he way you tricked Max, because I have part of your powers now. And I swear on everything I love, I will never fall for your guise of ‘Mr. Whatsit’ and I will never, ever, join you.”
Vecna sneers, raising his hand. Will gasps, feeling his body lift of the ground. He pushes, forcing Vecna back with all his might, making the other stagger a good 10 feet, allowing Will to get his legs back on the floor.
Vecna regains his footing. When his stare meets Will’s, it feels like a thousand needles prickle against his skin. The glare he receives is downright vicious, making goosebumps rise all across his body.
“Clearly, I gave you too big of a part of myself,” he growls. Will’s half-tempted to give him a middle finger, just to be petty but refrains. He tries to scan his surroundings while also keeping his eyes on Vecna.
“But…” he muses, his tone a clear indicator for bad news, “there are other ways I can incentivize you.”
Will see’s a flash of light behind him. A portal, showing him where he’d just been in the right side up. His mom’s clutching his body, whose eyes are white, Robin is desperately searching through their backpack, Max lying down beside her.
Lucas is desperately yelling, pointing at the sky where Mike… Mike’s floating in the air.