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Max breathed raggedly as she looked at the fortress. It looked nothing like in her coma-dream.
That fortress was the one she'd turned her back on to come here.
That fortress was where she'd dreamed Joyce had decapitated Henry Creel-Vecna.
With nary a thought for how she'd known him as a child. Had had confidence in him when almost everyone else had bullied him.
But Max hadn't known that. So how could dream-her have known it.
Max remembered dreaming Will trying to convince Henry to fight it when he'd encountered his younger self getting possessed in the cave, only for him to declare he was never controlled by it, had joined it willingly and had chosen to stay.
Funny how even her coma had made him out to be a victim.
Or was that what had actually happened? Billy had to remove a few lingering 'threads' of the link from her after all. She had a feeling at least Henry Creel's memory in the cave was real.
She felt her heart drop again.
He 'chose to stay', where?
When Henry was a child with everyone under the thumb of his pretentious, controlling mother who gave more of a rats ass about being 'proper' than her own husband and children, (after the thing had taken him over in the cave, after he'd hit that man who'd shot him but hit him too hard - was the fucker whispering to him even then? Or had it just been misplaced force and fear? Did it matter in the end? He clearly was scared and regretful. - Did this even happen? She felt it did. Eddie might know for sure but she'd never worked up the courage to ask), and then after when Brenner had kidnapped and tortured him. Had put that little pill thing in his neck. She couldn't even remember what Eleven had called it - Soterra or Soteria or something. But she said it had only suppressed his powers. Nothing about his suppressing his connection with the mindflayer and the Upside Down and all that. And then Eleven had cried when she told Max about how she had thrown him right into the grasp of the Upside Down and all the creatures in it.
And to think she had dreamt that it was Mike who had always understood Eleven best.
But she hadn't confessed like this to Mike, that's for sure.
But Henry.
'Chosen to stay' where?
When had he had the chance to run to begin with? The willpower and support to try?
"Alright I think I've figured out the patrol."
She snapped back to Eddie from the cave they hid in just in time to see him shift back from his demogorgon form.
Billy and Lucas kept watch behind him, just in case.
There were a few other creatures just wandering still but Eddie had told her to not kill the ones with steady red-purple eyes. To only shoot if she saw them flicker to black or even white.
She stayed well away from all of them as best she could still though.
It was only Dustin's pet 'Dart' that she got close to.
Dart, who was still guarding their designated exit. She hopes he'd be ok. She'd gotten attached.
She tried her best to pay attention to Eddie explaining but her mind kept pulling her away.
God she hoped Joyce hadn't found 'Vecna' yet. Or that she would at least hesitate.
Henry was still part of the hivemind. If any part of Max's dream came true before they detached him.....
Eleven would never forgive herself. For something she didn't even do. It wasn't her fault she was with Joyce and didn't know Max and Eddie were trying to save Henry. She didn't even know there was a Henry still alive to save. They couldn't risk the bastard seeing their plans.
Kali knew though. Kali, ever skilled at illusions, at keeping secrets even from that bastard, knew.
Max hoped she'd be able to stall.
And pushed down the flash of guilt at the rather depressing way she'd dreamed her dead. Trapped in the same place she'd tried to escape.
But Kali wasn't dead. She was here in the Upside Down. Fighting. Just like the rest of them.
"Oy!"
She snapped back to Eddie, who groaned and pulled something out of his pocket.
"It's meth. The medical grade stuff. For fucks sake I hope you don't get addicted but it's only the first time you've used?. I need you to focus and weed doesn't work fast enough."
She grabbed and downed it before he even finished explaining.
She had talked to Ms. Kelly and they had gotten a little off topic and she had let it slip that they were trying to see if types of meth could treat what they had just that year started called ADHD which fit Max's inability to pay attention but Ms Kelly has said she more thought it was the trauma and depression that caused Max's wandering mind, so didn't think it would be a good fit.
Well they were about to find out.
"Right....well that's a bit more than people usually start off with so it should kick in in about 15 minutes. Get your stuff ready and I'll tell you everything again in a bit"
They left to do a final scout, but not before Lucas gave her a searing kiss.
'For Luck.' was the official reason.
15 minutes. It felt too long. God she hoped Kali could delay the others.
But the time passed faster than she'd thought and she was able to stop her mind yapping before she even realised it.
"Talk to me." She told Eddie the minute he, Billy and Lucas got back from a last scout.
And she remembered every last word.
They headed off with a bit more confidence than before. But even with the meth, she wasn't a fool to underestimate that bastard.
-----
Kali panicked as Joyce raised the axe to behead an impaled, gurgling Vecna. They hadn't saved Henry yet.
Fuck.
A gun shot went off - but it was Joyce that yelped in pain and dropped the axe as a bullet grazed her wrist.
Karen Wheeler lowed her gun while Ted put his hand on Nancy and Hopper to stop them aiming.
"We're not done!" she yelled at Joyce. Kali breathed a sigh of relief that at least they'd have a few more minutes.
Joyce looked baffled. "What? What'd you mean? He's right here!"
"Henry's still in there. I'm not letting you kill him! We didn't leave him back then and I'm not leaving him now!"
Joyce looked frustrated and Kali felt a baffled hope raise in her heart. Maybe Karen didn't know that Henry was physically elsewhere while his mind was here too but she was ready to go to bat for him. And that was what counted.
Joyce looked like she was ready to kill Karen.
"Henry's dead to me!" She hissed, and pointed her bleeding arm at a wheezing Vecna. "Whatever he used to be - this isn't him anymore! H- It deserves to die!"
Karen's face was blank. "Henry's dead? Just like Will was, right?"
Joyce's face was one of surprise but Karen continued "Will said he's trying to convince Henry to fight with us but he's not having it. But that's ok. We can help him get better later. But you can't kill the thing. Not y-."
"Where's Henry." It was a quite statement. Not a question.
"I - I don't know." Karen admitted. "But we're going to find him. And we're going to save him. His mind is in - there," she gestured to the impaled Vecna, "and, well everywhere else. But his body isn't. We're going to find him. Disconnect him. Save him. And help him HEAL." This last part was spat at Joyce.
For the first time since she had seen Vecna, Joyce looked like an odd mix of conflicted and hopeful instead of just angry.
"I agree." Kali spoke up. Her voice came out louder than she expected and it almost echoed in the space.
Eddie had just contacted her telepathically. They were fighting the bastard.
Just in the nick of time.
And everyone turned to her almost in unison.
But she kept her eyes on Karen. "You've got more help than you think."
She took a deep breath and looked to Eleven. "I couldn't tell you before. I'm sorry. But we're trying to save him. I don't even know where Eddie and Max are exactly, just to be safe. But we're trying."
Ted and Karen Wheeler looked like they'd seen a miracle. Ted almost collapsed onto Hopper.
"Thank heavens!" He breathed. "I- I thought this would be a shot in the dark!"
Just then, everything started to rumble around them.
Kali grunted and pushed as hard as she could, feeling blood gush from her nose and the rumbling stopped.
But she couldn't explain now.
"Jane!" She gasped, trying her best to hold on to her illusion of everyone rushing or tumbling outside to make the bastard think they weren't inside here anymore.
"We're going to save Henry! Keep holding the mid flayer RIGHT HERE!" She felt her mind ache and her vision spilt for the brief moment it took to send Jane that message while still keeping up her illusion.
She cut of her connection to Jane to make her illusion as realistic as she could.
Hopefully Jane understood.
The bastard would need to get killed in both places after they got Henry for this to work or the fucker would just jump from one vessel to the other and escape.
She just hoped she could give the call to strike here in time.
She didn't know how Karen and Ted Wheeler figured ANYTHING out but thank fuck they did.
Now she just needed to keep this up. For however long Eddie, Max, Billy and Lucas needed.
-----
Max stared at the bastard who caused all of this, gun in hand and cocked.
As Eddie behind her held Henry Creel's head in his hands, she heard him grunting and stumbling to stand, having successfully pulled the link from Henry to this bastard and redirecting it to link Henry to himself instead.
Billy and Lucas had just taken care of the last of the creatures trying to jump them and Lucas was leaning against the wall, wounded, with Billy wrapping it but still trying to keep an eye out.
Even though she was nursing her own injuries, particularly a big, searing gash on her back, she hadn't hesitated when Billy told her to wear the bastard out so he couldn't focus on the Vecna suit, and had fired the lightning gun going right for the headshot without a second thought.
She hoped it had worked and she hoped Will had managed to sever his own link by now.
"Do it!" Eddie yelled behind her.
And Max jammed the barrel of the gun into the mouth of whatever amalgamation of Virginia Creel and Universe 2's Martin Brenner the real bastard was, pointed right up to its brain and fired with not a word to the fucker.
------
As the hectic battle from the creatures that had entered to try and stop them raged, neither Joyce nor anyone else had managed to get back into position to do the deed.
Kali had been the only one close enough.
But as Henry's face stared back at her, she couldn't do it.
She knew it wasn't him but that face was flesh and blood, not an intangible illusion.
"I'll handle it!" Eddie had broadcasted to her, understanding completely what was stopping her.
And why wouldn't he? Whatever emotions, whatever love she was feeling, he felt just as much if not more for Henry Creel by this point.
And she knew Henry returned it as much as he could what with that bastard still in his head. At least as much as he did for his old crush Patty way back when. Kali remembered feeling an impression when she had been spying on the fucker in Henry's head before it was stiffled. But she had felt it.
As the flesh of a burned Henry Creel melted off of the impaled Vecna, to reveal the other-Brenner with Virginia Creel's cold eyes and sneer, she felt the old rage resurface. For herself AND Henry. Still she waited until Eddie's voice rang through her head with a resounding "Now!" before Kali swung the axe with a snarl of her own, and her aim rang true.
-----
Everyone made their way through the gate Dart had fought to defend, Dustin and Robin carrying the creature as it whimpered in pain from its injuries.
But not fatal, thankfully.
Eleven watched, keeping the portal open as the Upside Down thundered on the other side, and finally the last stragglers - Billy, Steve and Jonathan holding up each other, Kali came through next followed by Max and Lucas, and finally Eddie came through carrying a shivering, half-delirious Henry, and with that everyone was back in the Rightside Up.
All of them safer now, though with some still in need of a little patching up.
She had barely let the portal close behind them before she used strength she didn't even know she had, to launch herself at Henry in the most heartfelt hug she'd ever given and sob her heart out.
She didn't even remember what she said really, but she knew there was many 'Sorry's in there.
She hoped she remembered to throw in how much she loves him.
But she had the entire future to tell him that and so much more now.
The future was theirs now to make their own.