Chapter Text
The WSQK radio station isn’t what Max expected.
It’s bigger.
Quieter.
Too normal for something that’s supposed to be… safe.
The van door slides open, and Lucas is already there, hands steady as he helps her out and to her wheelchair, carrying her slow and careful like she might break if he moves too fast.
“Easy,” he murmurs.
“I’m not made of glass,” Max mutters.
But she lets him.
Her legs doesn't cooperate the way she wants them to.
They are still waking up as well.
Weak.
Unsteady.
Like they don’t remember how to hold her up yet.
Just like her arms.
Downside from being in a Vecna induced coma for the past 18 months.
Lucas notices.
Of course he does.
“I’ve got you,” he says again.
Max exhales.
“…I know.”
--
The others are already moving, voices low but urgent, gathering supplies, checking doors, making sure everything’s secure.
For a moment, it feels like she’s stepped into something midscene.
Like everyone already knows their part.
And she’s still catching up.
“Max.”
She looks up.
Will.
He’s already running from the car before she can react, stopping just short of crashing into her, like he’s not sure if he’s allowed to, as he carefully pulls her into a hug.
“Hey,” he says, breath uneven.
Max blinks at him, tears threatening to spill.
Then-
“…I leave you alone for a second and you turn into a sorcerer?”
There’s a beat.
Will huffs, shaking his head. “It was a little longer than a second,” he says. “And I’m not a sorcerer.”
Max tilts her head, studying him.
“…It sure seems so to me.”
Will rolls his eyes but he’s smiling.
Just a little.
And for a second..
Everything feels almost normal.
--
“Alright,” Robin cuts in, clapping her hands once. “Inside. Everyone. We don’t know how much time we’ve got.”
The group shifts, moving past them, back into motion.
Max watches them go.
Feels it again..
That sense of being… behind.
Lucas notices.
He always notices.
“Hey,” he says softly.
She looks at him.
“Let me give you a tour.”
Max raises an eyebrow. “A tour?”
Lucas shrugs, one corner of his mouth lifting.
“Yeah,” he says. “You know. VIP access.”
She huffs quietly.
“…Wow. I’m honored.”
But she doesn’t say no.
--
He watches her as he takes her in the wheelchair from room to room.
Slightly touching her shoulder.
Not controlling.
Just… there.
Guiding.
Grounding.
As if he needs a constant reminder that he isn't dreaming but that she is really here.
The station is fair in size, hallways that lead to interesting rooms, wires running along the walls, equipment stacked everywhere like it was thrown together in a rush and a stash of cassette tapes and vinyls, stacked in different areas.
Max takes it in slowly.
Every movement careful.
Every detail noted.
“…So this is where you’ve been?” she asks.
Lucas nods.
“Yeah,” he says. “Most of the time.”
A beat.
“…When I wasn’t at the hospital.”
Max glances at him.
“…You really stayed there. Every day?”
He doesn’t hesitate.
“Yeah.”
She looks forward again.
“…Why?”
Lucas exhales.
“Because it was you,” he says simply. "And there was no where better for me to be. I wanted to be there the moment you came back." he pauses, "Because I knew you would come back."
Max’s throat tightens.
“…Okay.”
--
They turn into a quieter room.
Smaller.
Less crowded.
The hum of the station fades a little.
It’s just them.
Lucas leans against the edge of a table, still close enough that he reach her, if she needs it.
Max looks around the room slowly.
“…So,” she says. “Tour guide.”
Lucas huffs.
“Yeah, okay. Uh… this is—” he gestures vaguely. “A room.”
Max stares at him.
“…Wow. You’re really good at this.”
“Yeah, I know.”
A beat.
Then..
They both go quiet.
Because they both know that’s not why they’re here.
“…Tell me,” Max says softly.
Lucas looks at her.
“…Everything.”
--
He nods.
“Okay,” he says. “Okay, um…”
He runs a hand through his hair.
“After- after you—” he stops, swallowing. “After your heart stopped… El was still there with you.”
Max nods faintly.
“From the pizza dough freezer,” she murmurs.
“Yeah,” Lucas says. “Just like before, in the void.”
He shifts slightly, trying to find the words.
“Mike was there,” he says. “He—he told her he loved her. And it—did something. Gave her more power. That how she was able to stop Vecna as she did.”
Max watches him.
“But then when the world split, and his hold on you released, and I held you. She was still there,” he continues. “Wherever you were. And she—she was able to pull you back.”
Max’s fingers curl slightly at her sides.
“…It hurt,” she says quietly. “It was so scary.”
Lucas nods.
“Yeah,” he says. “it was crazy for us out here. But nothing can compare to what was going on with you.”
A beat.
“…But you came back.”
Max looks at him.
“…I came back.”
He shifts, leaning back slightly.
“…Will,” he says.
Max tilts her head. “The sorcerer.”
Lucas huffs. “Yeah. The ‘sorcerer.’”
He exhales.
“He figured it out before everything,” he says. “That when he’s close to the hive… he can see through them. The demos. Like—like he’s there.”
Max’s eyes narrow slightly.
“…Like a window?”
Lucas nods.
"Like a spy."
"So he is able to see what Vecna see's as well?"
Lucas nods, "It seems like when he’s close to the demos and Vecna is directly seeing through them he can tap into Vecna as well.”
“How?”
Lucas hesitates.
“…It’s like a connection,” he says. “Vecna can use it. Channel through him.”
Max’s expression darkens.
“…That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not, is how the Demos found you in the hospital,” Lucas admits. “But it goes both ways.”
She looks at him.
“What do you mean?”
“He can use it too,” Lucas says. “Will. If he taps in.”
Max’s breath catches.
“…He did.”
Lucas nods.
“Yeah,” he says. “At the Mac Z, when the demos attacked, us, and Will stopped them. There was demo left in the field. So figured, if we bring one here, hook it up onto of the roof that we can attach wires to it and bring it back, long enough for Will to be close to tap into the hive mind.”
Max’s eyes widen.
“You bought it here?”
“Yeah,” Lucas says. “Will tapped in. Took control just long enough to see through it.”
Lucas pauses and looks down but he looks back at Max.
“…That’s how he found you.”
Max stares at him.
"What?"
“Yeah,” he says. “That’s how we knew you were still out there. Still fighting.”
Max’s chest tightens.
“…I thought it was El.”
Lucas shakes his head.
“No,” he says gently. “That wasn’t her.”
Max looks down.
“…He told me to run,” she says. “When Vecna had me. Me and Holly.”
Lucas’s grip tightens on the edge of the table.
“Yeah,” he says. “That was Will.”
Max lets out a shaky breath.
“…I thought it was her.”
“I mean, Will couldn't do what he can now, so-” Lucas says softly. “It makes sense.”
Max nods faintly.
“…But it was him.”
“Yeah.”
A beat.
“…You still ran.”
Max lets out a small, humorless laugh.
“…Barely.”
Silence settles between them.
Heavy.
Then,
“…What was it like?” Lucas asks quietly.
Max goes still.
Because,
That’s not an easy question.
“…Dark,” she says finally. “Not like… night. More like… nothing.”
Lucas watches her.
“…Like I wasn’t there anymore.”
His chest aches.
“But I was,” she continues. “Somewhere.”
She shifts slightly, her fingers tightening against her sides.
“At first there was dark like the void,” she says. “Then I was in memories. Memories of mine and then I would be in memories of him.”
Lucas swallows.
“Vecna,” he says.
Max nods.
“…Henry,” she corrects softly.
A beat.
“…It was him in high school, him in a cave when he was younger. I thought that I wouldn't get out. Like he wanted me to just give up.”
Lucas’s jaw tightens.
Max looks at him.
“…I almost did.”
His heart drops.
“Max—”
“I was tired,” she admits. “I was alone there. I couldn't keep up with time, and I was constantly on the run. At nights things would be quiet.”
She looks away.
“…Too quiet.”
Lucas steps closer.
Just a little.
“What changed?” he asks.
Max hesitates.
Then,
“…A door opened once.”
Lucas frowns slightly.
“A door?”
She nods.
“…A door,” she says. “Like the one I had seen when Vecna first had me, when I was at Billy's grave.”
Her voice softens.
“I thought it was a trick,” she says. “Someway to pull me back in.”
Lucas doesn’t move.
Doesn’t breathe.
“But then I saw you.”
His breath catches.
“What?”
Max looks at him.
Really looks at him.
“You were there,” she says. “The door was open and I could see you. Sitting next to my hospital bed.”
Her voice drops to a whisper.
“Your hand.”
Lucas’s chest tightens.
“You were holding mine,” she says. “And you kept saying—”
She swallows.
“‘I’m here.’”
Lucas’s vision blurs.
“…Max—”
“But when I ran,” she says. “It closed and I was in another memory of his.”
Lucas steps closer.
Slow.
Careful.
“That's when I realized, that maybe it wasn't the music, maybe it was something else that was anchoring. Anchoring me to keep fighting to come back.” she says softly.
Lucas shakes his head slightly.
“…What?”
Max eyes teared, as she wanted to move.
Move to Lucas.
To grab him.
To pull him to her.
To have her hand find his and squeeze.
“…It was you.”
Lucas freezes.
“You were the way out,” she says. “Not Kate Bush.”
She sniffles,
"While the music was an anchor for me to reality, I realized that it was my connection to you all that anchored me the most. My connect to you."
"Me?"
His breath leaves him.
Slow.
Shaky.
"You stayed."
“I stayed,” he whispers.
Max nods.
“Even when all I did was push you away. Even after Billy. You still stayed. You still wanted to be around. You still wanted to be there.”
A beat.
“…And so I fought to come back.”
Lucas lets out a broken laugh, pulling her into him before he can stop himself.
Careful.
Always careful.
But this..
This he needs.
Max rest into him immediately, her head resting against his chest, as that was all her body would allow her to do at the moment..
Lucas holds her.
Tight.
Like he never wants to let go.
“Don’t do that again,” he murmurs into her hair.
Max huffs softly.
“Wow. Great advice.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
A pause.
Then, quieter..
“…I’m here.”
Lucas nods against her.
“Yeah,” he says.
“…You are.”
And this time..
He believes it.