Chapter Text
"What should we do?" A voice said, the words muffled and faint, but clearly laced with worry.
There was a shuffling sound, and a different voice responded. "I don't know."
The first person huffed out a breath. "Well, we can't just leave them here, Mike! We have to do something."
The second voice-- Mike-- sighed. "I know that, but their clothes..."
There was a beat of silence, and somehow she could tell that the other person was rolling their eyes.
"Will don't give me that--"
"Mike, come on. You shouldn't judge a person by their clothes."
"I know, but they're not-- I mean, the colors…"
Will hummed, the sound coming out much clearer than it was earlier. "We can worry about that later. Right now, I'm more worried about why they're not waking up yet. I already scanned for injuries and healed some of the minor scraps just in case, but I don't know why they aren't…" the voice trailed off before suddenly perking up. "Oh wait a second! You're awake!"
How could he tell? How did he know?
Blearily, she managed to pry open her eyes, wincing as the bright open sky blinded her. Two men appeared in front of her, their heads tilted together as they stared down at her.
The one on the left had long, curly hair tied into a ponytail behind him, and wore something that looked like armor. A sword was strapped to his waist, and though the blade was in a sheath, she could tell it was expensive just by the delicate carvings on the hilt as well as the golden sheen the metal gave off. A blue cape fluttered in the wind behind him, nearly hitting his companion. The most striking thing about him, though, was the bold marking that rested on his right bicep, exposed to the world as some sort of declaration. The mark resembled a teardrop, the lower half bracketed by a swooping arch, pointed at both ends as well as the bottom.
Meanwhile, the man on the right seemed much more plain. He had short brown hair and wore deep blue robes with golden accents on it. He held an intricately carved staff in his hands, the end closest to her curling into a crescent moon shape that had a bright blue gem at its center humming with magic. The man’s eyes were kind and gentle, and were clearly thrumming with magic.
She let out a groan.
"Ah," said Mike, offering a hand to help her up. "You're awake now."
Slowly, as if she was trudging through quicksand, she managed to take the offered appendage. In doing so, she caught sight of her wrist-- her purple sleeve sliding down slightly to reveal the ink stained into her skin.
011. Weird.
"Here," the man helped her up to her feet. She thought he was probably the one named Mike. "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."
She pursed her lips, not responding to that line. In her defense, she didn't mean to sleep on the ground. In fact, she intended to--
She intended to… she--
She didn't know, actually, what she was doing on the ground. Huh.
She didn't defend herself. She didn't know how to.
"Are you alright?"
"Uh," she twitched her fingers and her toes. They were all there. "Yeah, I think so. Thank you, Mike."
Mike raised an eyebrow at her. "You know my name?"
Will snorted beside him. "Most people do."
Mike flushed. "I just meant-- you recognize me?"
"Erm, no," she stared bluntly. "I just think your friend said it, right before I woke up."
"I see," Mike said, a slight frown on his face. "Say, what is your name? And what brings you here?"
"Oh, my name is…" she trailed off. "Hm, I'm not sure actually."
"You don't know your name?"
Will frowned. "That's not good-- I think I read about this once. It was something called amnesia."
"Well I, for one, think it's called a load of shi--"
"Jonathan!" Will cut the newcomer off. Oh, she didn't notice the man standing just behind Will and Mike. He looked a lot like Will, actually, but he wore armor as Mike did. Although his armor was much less extravagant than Mike’s, and more worn down, too. It also seemed like it was fit for a horseback rider (she wasn’t sure how she knew that, but maybe she just assumed it because of the horse beside him). He also held a silver sword in his hand-- unsheathed and ready to use.
"What? She's a stranger in foreign clothes that you found unconscious on some random field!" Jonathan argued. "She knew Mike's name but not her own?"
"She did say she overheard Will saying my name," Mike pointed out.
Jonathan scoffed. "Likely story."
Will shrugged. "I dunno, it does seem pretty likely, actually."
"Yeah, I'm actually telling the truth!" She spoke up in an attempt to defend herself.
Mike hummed in thought. "It really could be true," he started, and at Jonathan's glare, he quickly continued. "But, ah, we should head over back to town first and sort it out there."
She frowned. "Wait, do I not get a say in this?"
He shook his head. "Sorry, but no."
Will jabbed his elbow into Mike's side.
"Ow!"
Will rolled his eyes and turned to Eleven. "Sorry about this, but I promise we will hear you out when we reach the town, okay?"
She sighed, but nodded in agreement. Eleven didn't like the idea, but--
Wait a second.
Her name… it was Eleven?
Huh.
It was only after they started their walk back toward town that she realized she didn't actually mention that she remembered her name. Oh.
"So what are you going to do with me? Am I your prisoner now?" She asked, needing to get the facts straight first before revealing her name.
Will shook his head. "Of course not. At least, not yet anyways."
"Not yet?"
"You'll be free to go after we establish the fact that you're not an enemy of Ardenia."
"Ardenia?" She questioned. "Is that where we are right now?"
Jonathan frowned. "You never heard of the country that we're currently in?" He asked, his voice full of disbelief. "I truly doubt that."
"No, I really don't remember!"
Will sighed. "Jonathan, please."
"No, Will. You're being too trusting-- you both are. We don't know her intentions, and it's my job to protect you both."
Will pursed his lips. "And you protect us plenty, really, but at least give her some benefit of the doubt."
Mike nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what Will said."
"Of course you're agreeing with him."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Will sighed again. "Anyways!" he spoke loudly, ignoring the bickering beside him. "I'm Will, and that guy," he said, pointing to the younger man, "is Mike, though you already knew that. The grumpy guy with the horse is my brother Jonathan."
"I'm not grumpy," Jonathan said, grumpily. "You're lucky, you know," he said to Eleven, "that these two idiots found you. The Party is the better option to have found you, rather than some brigands."
"That would've been a rude awakening," Will snickered.
"Wait, party? Like… a drunken gathering?" Eleven blinked down at their outfits. "You're partying in full armor?"
Mike grinned at her. "Well, it’s a dangerous job, to be fair."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"We're not drunk and partying in armor," Will said, taking pity on her. "We're just called The Party. Properly capitalized and such."
"Ah… weird, but okay."
Will laughed. "A little bit."
"Hey!" Mike huffed. "We came up with that name together, remember?"
"Hmm, that's true. But that just means I'm self aware."
"Self aware enough to see that you're being naive?" Jonathan inputted, shaking his head slightly. Turning to look at Eleven, he added, "it seems I'm the only one here being reasonably cautious. I don't mean to distrust you this way, because while I wish I could trust you, I need to be wary 'cause these two idiots won't."
Eleven laughed. "No, that's fair. I'd do the same if I was in your shoes." She paused. "My name is Eleven, by the way. I just remembered it," she added. She wasn't exactly lying, but the 'just' in this situation actually meant 'like 40 minutes ago'.
Eh, it was close enough.
"Like the number?" Will asked, blinking owlishly at her.
"Um." She paused, thinking about the tattoo she saw on her wrist. "I guess?"
Mike frowned. "That's… a strange name. Maybe in other countries they name their children after numbers?"
Will and Eleven shrugged in unison.
Jonathan pursed his lips. "A number is no reasonable thing to call you. It's so… impersonal."
"I thought you didn't trust her and didn't wanna like her?"
Jonathan reached out and shoved Will's shoulder. "Oh shut up."
"I'm just saying!"
Mike tapped his knuckle against her arm, pulling her attention towards him. "How about we call you El?" He offered. "It's not a number, but it's close to what your name is."
"What she claims her name is," Jonathan interrupted.
"Yeah that or whatever too, sure."
El… she rolled around the word in her head a few times.
El.
Yeah, she thought. I like the sound of that.
She nodded. "Yes. I like it," she said with a grin. "At least that's one mystery solved, now."
Mike grinned. "Good. We can talk more about this later, though. We're almost to town--"
"Mike!" Will called out, and everyone turned to look at him. "No, look over there!" He pointed down the road. "That's-- that's smoke. The town--"
"-- is on fire. Shit," Mike cursed some more. "Fuck, okay. Will, Jonathan! We need to go!"
Jonathan gestured towards El. "What about her?"
"Unless she's on fire too, it can wait!" He shouted, already running towards the burning buildings.
Will started chasing after him. "Come on, let's go already!" He called back to them. "Get on your horse and meet us there!"
Jonathan sighed, but swung himself onto his steed, taking off towards the village.
Leaving El standing there. Alone.
"Um…" she swayed in place, looking at the deserted road around her. "Hmmm."
She could run. Make a break for it and leave them behind; just go in the opposite direction. They probably wouldn't come after her, too busy with fighting the brigands that were definitely attacking the town. The town, full of innocent people.
El sighed to herself, knowing that she already made up her mind as she ran to catch up with them.
Will grimaced at the sight of ashes, the gray dust floating down around them. Pieces of splintered wood from destroyed market stalls littered the ground, only a handful of them still standing-- and just barely at that.
Still, it could be decent enough cover.
Mike stood beside him, his jaw clenched and his fingers nearly white from where they were wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
"Your orders?" Jonathan asked from atop his steed.
Before he could answer, a shout came from behind them.
"Wait!" El said as she ran towards them.
"El?!" Mike blinked at her in disbelief. "You followed us? Why?"
El shuffled her feet against the cobblestone. "I… I'm not sure," she said, biting her lip. "I just knew I needed to help. Besides, I'm armed, and I know my way around a fight if you'll have me."
Ignoring the look of displeasure Jonathan shot him, Mike nodded. "Yeah, yeah of course," he said, pulling out his weapon. "There's strength in numbers, after all. Just stay close!"
Will grinned. "We could always use the help," he said, more kindly than she thought she deserved. "Thank you for aiding us."
"We haven't won yet," El replied. "Thank me when the battle is over."
"Just remember that these bandits are practiced thieves and murderers. They will show us no mercy," Jonathan advised, his face grave. "It's kill or be killed. I pray that it is not the latter."
El nodded, a serious expression dawning on her face. "Got it," she muttered, and with a dramatic flourish, drew out a tome from beneath her cloak.
"You know magic?" Mike asked as they slowly advanced further into town, careful not to announce their presence to their enemies just yet. Jonathan dismounted Poppy for the time being, tying her to the fence post at the edge of town.
"I think so."
Mike paused, turning to stare at her. "... You think so?" He sounded incredulous, which was totally fair. Will giggled to himself as Mike shot him an exasperated look. "Maybe I should stay behind you for now…"
"No, I can control it," El said, more firmly this time. "Promise," she tacked on, a determined expression on her face.
Mike sighed, but decided to trust her for now. "Okay," he said. "If you can use magic, then I think I have a plan…"
The plan worked. Surprisingly well, too. El had only known Mike for an afternoon at that point, and she could safely say that he was a tactical genius.
She was a little impressed by how easy he made it look. Either he was a natural, or he studied for years to get so good. Maybe it was both.
"Well, that's the end of that," El said, tucking her lightning tome back under her cloak.
"Good thing, too," Will muttered. "They left so many wounded…" he trailed off, staring mournfully at the ruins left behind.
Mike brushed his hand against Will's elbow, smiling sadly at him. "Well it's lucky we were nearby. We saved who we could, Will."
"But…" Will looked crushed with guilt. "It's not enough," he whispered. "It doesn't feel like enough."
Jonathan grimaced. "We did what we could, Will. We can't turn back time, as much as we want to. We can only look forward."
"... I know," Will mumbled, replacing his fire tome with his staff. "I'm going to go heal the wounded."
El had no idea what was going on, and could only stare as Will left. "Is he… okay?"
Mike sighed and turned to her. "Eventually," he answered, though that only brought in more questions. "In any case, I thank you for your help. You're certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure."
Jonathan hummed in agreement. "Indeed. Maybe you could now tell us how you came to have those fight capabilities? Or how you came to be here?"
El pulled at her sleeves. "I understand your skepticism, but I can't explain how or why… maybe muscle memory?" She shrugged. "But please, believe me. I have shared all that I know."
"You fought to save Ardenian lives," Mike said. "My heart says that's enough."
"And your head?" Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Are you going to ask what that says as well?"
Mike sighed. "She's a good fighter, and she'd be a good asset to the Party," he admitted, though she still didn't know what exactly the Party was. "And I believe her story, as odd as that sounds. I know that Will does too."
"I…" El was at a loss for words. "Thank you, Mike," she mumbled. "I didn't expect you to believe me, even now."
Mike chuckled. "You could have run when we left you on the road, but you didn't. You came here to save the people of this town, even without knowing who they were."
"I-- I just thought it was the right thing to do."
"Yeah, well most people wouldn't," he replied, a look of sorrow crossing his face. "It says a lot about you, that you did."
"..." She didn't know what to say to that, glancing over to Jonathan, who held eye contact. He gave her a short nod, one that she recognized as agreement. Huh.
El turned, her eyes catching onto Will's figure. He was waving his staff over the leg of a villager, his touch gentle as the wound mended itself with his magic.
"So how about it?" Mike asked, his eyes following her gaze. His expression shifted to one of fondness. "Will you join us, El?"
She smiled, tilting her head down in a mock bow. "I would be honored."
"You know," Jonathan started as the group exited the town, "the brigands spoke with an accent. Faricolan, I think."
"Faricolan?" El questioned, kicking a small pebble out of the road. "What's that?"
"Faricole is Ardenia's neighbor to the west," Mike answered. "They were our enemies during the war a few decades ago, and now they send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."
Will sighed. "And because of that, the poor townsfolk suffer," he said with a frown. "They didn't do anything wrong… and they're helpless against the brigands."
Jonathan ruffled Will's hair, a small smile on his face. "Well they do have us, you know."
Will hummed. "Yeah, but… we can't be everywhere at once, Jonathan. We can't save everyone," he said, a haunted look in his eyes.
The others didn't know what to say to that.
El said nothing.
Will was frozen in place, unable to move, not even as the monster stalked up to him. Not even as its mouth opened like petals on a flower. Not even as it pounced.
Mike tackled him out of the way.
"Will!" He cried out, pushing the cleric behind him as he unsheathed his sword.
The group had stopped and made camp for the night after the sun had left the horizon. They didn't expect the monsters. They weren't expecting to be attacked.
"Stay behind me," Mike threw out the order as he swung his sword toward the nearest creature.
"I--" Will croaked out, his body trembling slightly.
"Listen to him," Jonathan said as he rushed into the fray.
Will couldn't do anything else but nod, tree bark digging into his back as he pressed himself against it.
"Just focus on healing us, okay?" El muttered to him, a wind tome already in her hands (he wondered how many she had. Maybe she had all the elements up her sleeve). "We'll protect you."
He nodded again, not meeting her eyes. His hands felt clammy, and he worried the staff might slip out of them. Those monsters…
El moved to place herself in front of him.
"Do you know what these-- these monsters are?!" Jonathan asked as he stabbed his spear through one of the creatures.
She shook her head. "No-- I mean, as far as I can remember, I've never seen one of those things before."
Mike swung his sword, slicing into one of the creatures. It screamed and scrambled backwards. "And as far as you don't remember?"
It was an odd question, but El seemed to understand what he meant. "They're… familiar, I think,” she admitted, throwing her hand out and watching as a blast of wind struck its intended target. “Not in a friendly way, but I think I've encountered them before."
Jonathan shot her a suspicious look. "How so?" He asked, jabbing one of the creatures back with his lance.
"Not sure," she grunted, firing off another wind spell. "But I think they've tried to kill me."
Another one of the monsters burst out of the bushes, flying towards them. The group leapt apart, Mike reaching back and pulling him and Will towards one side while Jonathan and El went in the other direction.
Mike stabbed the sword into a different beast's neck. "Stick together!" He called out, as the ground rumbled and divided them further. "Just try and survive for now and we can regroup later!"
El gave a nod, and so did Jonathan a beat later, despite how disgruntled he looked at that.
Will felt like hyperventilating, his fingers clammy as he kept his staff in a death grip, following Mike as they retreated farther from the growing crack in the ground-- and farther from Jonathan (and El).
The best he could do right now was heal the group-- or just Mike, now-- but he wasn't sure if he even could at the moment. He could barely register the fighting around him. It felt like the forest was on fire, like dark smoke was clouding his vision, flooding his lungs, wrapping around his limbs like metal-weighted cuffs.
It was suffocating.
It was horrifying.
But there wasn't any fire around. Just woods filled with trees with monsters lurking within the bushes set out to kill them.
… Still terrifying, actually.
"Will! Will, are you okay?" Mike shouted as he attempted to keep the monsters at bay.
Will couldn't respond, his heart lodged in his throat, making him unable to speak. He couldn't think, could barely breathe. It was happening again. It was--
He was going to be sick.
"Will?" Mike called out again, after only receiving silence from his companion. He couldn't turn to check on Will, couldn't do anything other than focus on the enemies ahead of them. He couldn't feel the telltale sign of healing magic against his skin either, as he wasn't injured, and Will would slaughter him if he got a wound on purpose just to see if the other boy was alive.
That is, if Will was even alive.
No, he couldn't think that way. Of course, Will was still alive. He was just being quiet, because the monsters could hear them if they got too loud. Of course, he was okay.
“Will?” Mike repeated, practically begging; the desperation was obvious, even to him.
"I'm fine," Will managed to croak out, and Mike felt all the tension leave his body.
"Good," Mike said breathlessly, slashing at another monster. "You okay back there?"
Will nodded, though Mike couldn't see that. "... They're weak to fire," he murmured, hardly audible.
"What?"
"Just get down--"
Mike yelped as one of Will's hands grabbed the collar of his armor, yanking him back. Will's free hand shot forward ahead of them, the tips of his fingers flinging out a fire spell as one of the creatures burst out of the darkness.
"Shit!" Mike cursed, his sword nearly tumbling out of his hands. "Will--"
"Will!" A scream echoed through the forest.
"Jonathan?!" Will screamed back, whipping his head around. "Jonathan! Use fire!"
No response came back to them as Will flung a few more fireballs at the approaching enemies, keeping them at bay. The next thing they knew, a bolt of lightning struck down in the near distance.
"El," Mike muttered. "She was using a lightning tome earlier--"
"So she got my message?"
He snorted. "Less of a message, more of a loud fit of yelling for fire. You think it's close enough?"
Will nodded, flames dancing across his palms. "They don't like the heat or bright lights either, so lightning should work just fine."
Mike pursed his lips together as he slashed down one of the still-on-fire creatures. "How do you…?"
"Don't worry about it." He replied sharply.
Mike was worried about it. But, he supposed, he could worry about it later, once the immediate danger passed. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "Let's finish them off and regroup with Jonathan and El."
Will made a noise of agreement, his magic humming in the air around them. Mike never understood much about magic, but he knew it was incredibly difficult without a tome. He stared at Will's empty hands, and Mike’s grip tightened around his blade. He wasn't sure how long Will could perform timeless magic, but he wasn't keen on finding out.
"Let's make this quick, then," Will said, firing off another spell as Mike lunged into the fray.
"How did you know that?" El asked, after all the monsters were slayed and Will patched them all up.
"Know what?" Will asked, tiredly. He definitely knew very well what she was asking, but decided to play the fool anyways as he packed up their supplies on their horses.
"Their weakness," she responded bluntly.
Will pursed his lips, still not meeting her gaze. "... Lucky guess," he mumbled, his hands fixing the strap of the saddle bag for the seventh time. "I usually stick to fire spells… so I was just lucky."
It didn't seem like much luck to El, but she let the question drop. She might have felt a vague familiarity with those creatures, but Will seemed to know much more than that.
It was almost as if he fought them before.
But that was impossible. Somehow, there was a flaw to that logic, and not just because Will was a healer rather than a fighter. No, there was something else about why he clearly recognized them. Something similar to how she did as well, in some way.
"... Demogorgons," he said, quietly. Quieter than normal, which was a feat El didn't think was possible.
"Huh?" She said, dumbly.
"Demogorgons," he repeated, his voice firm while his hands trembled. "That's what they're called."
"How--" El sputtered. "How do you--"
Will shook his head. "There's… in some of the books in the library, they're mentioned," he explained. "That's… that's how I know."
"I- I see," El said, staring at Will. "Makes sense," she continued, despite the fact that they both knew he was lying.
“Are you ready to see the capital?” He asked, switching topics with a shaky smile.
“... Yes,” she said, allowing the subject to be dropped. “Though I'm not sure what to expect. I've never been to any capital before. Not that I could remember even if I have.”
“Right,” Will said, “well, that means you get to experience everything fun for the first time!” He offered, grinning more sincerely this time. “I’d be happy to show you around.”
El raised an eyebrow. “Am I not your prisoner?”
Will shook his head. “You helped up with that town, and with the Demogorgons. You're definitely one of us now. A real member of The Party.”
“Mike said something like that earlier,” she said, “I wasn't sure if I should believe him.”
Will didn't look surprised by the invitation. In fact, he seemed like he expected it. “Mike doesn't say anything he doesn't mean. He's… given chances to more people than you might expect.”
“And he’s the final say on who can join? Just like that?”
He laughed. “Technically we're a democracy, but Mike did create The Party in the first place,” he explained, “either way, you're in, El. Don't try to bail on us now.”
El paused, pulling it over. It's not like she had anywhere else to go, though. She smiled. “I wouldn't dream of it.”