Chapter Text
Dimension 422
There has never been a foe the Party has struggled to defeat, quite like the sorcerer Vecna and his army of demo-beasts. Truth be told, the group of young fighters is lucky that Vecna seems to take pleasure in messing with them rather than just killing them outright.
There was a battle brewing. In a short time they would be out in Hawkins standing together against a constant evil. The air was thick with the anticipation of it as well as with the annoyance that this had become a routine for the Party. Michael was in his room alone, preparing himself for what was likely going to be a long night of slaying the infernal bats that insisted on terrorizing their village.
As Michael meticulously straps on the greaves of his armor, careful to adjust them in such a way where they would be secure but not uncomfortable, he finds his thoughts drifting to each member of his party. Each of whom had been tortured alongside him in the never-ending quest to defeat a villain who can entrap the mind.
Jane came to mind first. She was as powerful as she was kind, a key asset in every fight they have ever had and ever will have. She was the party’s mage, joining their team years after the rest of them had decided to become a group of young delinquents battling anything they could in order to make a name for themselves.
She was essentially created by an evil scientist who was determined to expand the influence of his most prized experiment, Vecna himself. It was an accident that the Party stumbled upon her in the woods that fateful day she escaped his custody.
Maybe it was destiny, maybe it was luck; it no longer mattered.
Jane had sworn, to herself and to them, that she would do anything in her power to stop the thing who she once called “brother.”
Michael could not help but huff out a laugh. Nancy can complain about him all she wanted; at least he was not a slimy imitation of a human being hell bent on destroying the world.
He could not think of Jane without picturing her partner in crime, the Crimson Zoomer herself, Maxine.
Michael rolled his eyes at the name. He and Maxine were too much alike for their own good.
She was sly, cunning, and a pain in the side of anybody who she deemed deserving. While Michael was often on the receiving end of her constant snark, he would be a fool to believe she was not a crucial member of the Party as she was a skilled fighter and had a knack for breaking into spaces where she did not belong, stealing information as well as a valuable or two.
He had not seen her all day and was itching for an argument, something to get his mind off the upcoming fight.
Someone he had seen this morning, however, was Dustin.
They had spent breakfast together talking and planning their next move regarding the demogorgons. They were certainly harder to get rid of than the dogs or the bats. Michael missed the time when breakfast with a friend involved impromptu card games and hours of talking about nothing of importance.
Hanging out with Dustin is always a highlight in his day. The bard always had a way of spinning their situation into dramatic hymns and poetic lyrics that allowed the trauma to be, just for a moment, a beautiful story of bravery and survival.
Dustin was also by far the smartest person Michael had ever met in his life. He had a hunger for knowledge that he was constantly satiating. The need to share his knowledge with the group was also constant. One would never find a silent moment when with the bard.
As Michael worked to adjust his breastplate, his next thought was of Lucas.
The ranger had been the one to inform the Party of movement along the southern border of Hawkins an hour ago, demo-bats circling miles away, slowly making their way closer.
Lucas was loyal to a fault and was another one of Michael’s closest friends. They had come up with the idea of forming a party late at night on a whim, both of them filled with the burning desire to build a future better than their past.
Speaking of his future.
Michael’s mind drifted to where it often does… to his cleric, William.
Oh, William.
Michael could not help the smile that broke across his face at the mere thought of him.
They had known each other since they were young boys, when Michael only had a wooden sword and William could barely heal the smallest scrape.
The very moment he had been old enough, Michael had sworn an oath, The Oath, to protect William from any harm. Oaths were quite rare, as they can only be made by sincere honesty and the utmost devotion to the words. Michael had both.
Before they had become teenagers, the cleric had been captured by Vecna for a single, tormenting week.
Michael thinks about that week all the time.
He finds it hard not to blame himself…surely, he could have done more. But what? He had been only twelve years of age and would not start formal training for two more years. There was nothing more he could have done at the time.
Things are different now.
He is older. Stronger. More disciplined.
The words of his oath are his truth. His guide.
He would never be able to survive a week like that; not knowing if the most precious person in the world to him was alive or dead.
Michael swears he will protect William.
He was startled out of his thoughts by a pounding on the door. Far louder than necessary.
“Michael, you better be decent because I am coming in there whether you like it or not!”
It was very clearly Maxine– and it seemed she had brought her peevish ways with her.
What was he saying about itching for an argument?
“If you break my door down, I will not speak to you for a week!” he retaliated. Not his best threat, but he was not trying very hard.
“Promise?” Maxine said as she opened the door and took a sweeping look around the room. “Are you almost ready? Lucas said the demo-bats are about three miles away and they seem uninterested in stopping for respite before they come vex us.”
Michael sighed as he picked up his helmet, “Well at least they gave us yesterday, I had a very relaxing time not getting clawed at.”
This was true. He had had a wonderful day yesterday. Curled up in bed until the late hours of the morning with a certain someone, as well as an afternoon walk and a dinner with laughter and friends.
“Speak for yourself, Jane said she wanted to train! Can you believe that?” Maxine huffed, leaning against the doorframe.
“Yes, I can, that seems just like her.”
“All I am saying is that I would like a day off…a real day off,” she paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Oh, maybe we could go to the beach! I mean once we take care of business as usual.”
A smile broke across his face at the thought, “I, for once, agree with you.”
“Somebody alert the town criers, he agrees!” Maxine smirked at him. “We all know what you would like to do with your day off.”
Michael shot her a glare, despite her statement having truth to it.
Everybody knows what he would do with a day off.
“Are you not supposed to be a lady? It is scandalous to speak in such a way, you know.”
Maxine blew a raspberry as she pushed herself away from the door, “You are more of a lady than I will ever be with those princess curls of yours.”
He brought a hand up to his hair and pouted, “Princess curls?! Absolutely not! They are natural!”
“Yeah…naturally princess-y! Now let us get a move on, Your Highness.”
The reality of why Maxine was bothering him in the first place came rushing back, killing any humor that may have filled his response.
“Right…yes, let us go. Is everyone else ready?”
Is William ready?
It was the true question he wanted an answer to.
“I believe so, Lucas went to scout ahead. Dustin is clearing the area of any civilians, and our magicians are almost finished with their routine.”
Michael nodded. William and Jane regularly meditated together before a battle. The true depth of this ritual was beyond him; as far as he could tell, it was a way to give extra strength to their abilities and extra protection to their minds.
“Well then,” he said, sheathing his sword, “let's go kill these little bastards.”
Michael felt the presence of an angel before he even saw him.
William stood outside the entrance of their base arguing heatedly with Jane.
Michael came up behind William, placing a hand on the small of his back. He was dressed for combat, forgoing his usual purple robes for a simpler leather jerkin over a long-sleeved tunic. It pained Michael a great deal that most of his friends did not have proper armor to protect themselves. Not that his own was really protective in the way that a knight’s armor would be, but at least it was something.
“Hello, my love,” Michael whispered as he leaned down to kiss William on the cheek. The shorter boy leaned into him, but did not smile as he usually would, “How did the meditation go?”
Jane spoke before William even opened his mouth, “Something is wrong, William said something is w—”
“I did not say that!” William protested, “I said something felt different.”
“Hate to break it to you Sweetie, but that usually means something is wrong,” Maxine chimed in.
William closed his eyes and took a deep, suffering breath and then (finally) turned towards Michael.
The second those imploring hazel eyes met his own, Michael lost all his thoughts for a moment and had to mentally slap himself back into the present. Now was not really the time for mesmerization.
“Different how?” he asked softly in the voice he saved exclusively for William, settling one hand on William’s waist while the other was resting on the hilt of his sword.
“It was just…” William hesitated for a beat too long, “It was just hollow, I guess. Usually, I can look through the mindscape with Jane and get a feel for Vecna’s plan. But today I could not.” He looked down towards his fidgeting hands as he spoke, “It was almost as if he was purposefully hiding his plan from me. How would he know to do that though?” His head quickly shot to Jane, searching for answers.
“I am not sure. There is no reason to believe he knew you had been spying, but we cannot take this lightly, we will have a disadvantage if we cannot get even a hint at what he is planning.”
The group of four stood in silence for a moment, pondering the best course of action.
Michael’s eyes stayed frozen in William’s direction, assessing his every feature for any sign of discomfort or worry. All he found was irritation.
“Well, there is nothing we can do about it anyway. We might as well hurry along and fight the bats because they certainly will not stop their advances on my account,” William decided firmly as he began walking towards the southern border.
He paused a couple steps away and, without looking at any of them, held a hand out behind his back, waiting.
That was Michael’s cue. He strode forward and slotted his armored hand into its rightful place, in the palm of his most beloved.
He did not have to spare a glance at Maxine and Jane to know they came together and were now intensely strategizing every possible scenario that may occur in light of this new variable.
William had set a pace that was faster than usual, pulling ahead so he did not have to hear their whispering. Michael matched his stride easily and was about to ask the cleric if he was alright when…
“Don’t you dare say anything.” William said, quiet but firm.
Of course he knew. He always knew.
“I was not going to say anything! I merely wished to point out how ravishing you look today.”
A blush spread across William’s cheeks. Even after all these years, he still could not take a compliment.
“Yeah right, you saw me barely two hours ago. I look the same.”
“I agree, ravishing,” Michael smirked.
That finally, finally, put a smile on his boy’s face. It was like the sun peeking through the clouds on a stormy day.
“I know you. You were about to say, ‘Are you alright, my love?’” William changed his voice into a slightly unflattering imitation of the paladin, “‘If anything troubles you I will…stab it with my sword!’”
Well now he was just being mean.
Michael scoffed and looked over to find that the casual smile had turned into a look of pure amusement on William’s face, eyes bright and lips holding back laughter. Michael made another, smaller oath that he would do anything in this world to see that expression again.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Michael pulls a face and squeezes William’s hand, “I would not have said that. I was actually planning to call you ‘My Dear’ this time, not ‘My Love.’ It is vastly different.”
William scoffs and turns his head forward.
They then walk in a peaceful silence, letting the warm air pass over them as they begin to trek down a small hill, nearly to their destination.
Hawkins was quite beautiful this time of year. The flowers were beginning to bloom, bright yellows, and soft violets were able to be seen amongst the fresh grass. It really is a shame that this view could not be appreciated in full.
“You know I would tell you right?” William speaks suddenly, “You know that if I truly thought something was wrong, you’d be the first person I would tell.”
The sincerity in his voice nearly brought Michael to his knees. This conversation did not deserve to be had halfway, so Michael stops them at the bottom of the hill. He softly turns William to face him and looks him right in those beautiful, wide eyes.
“I know,” he brings a hand up to cup the other boy’s face, making sure he will listen, “I trust you more than anything. Am I worried? Of course! But as you said before, there is nothing we can do about it right now. And if something goes wrong, we will figure it out together, yes?”
“Together, always,” is the reply he gets, the one he hopes he will forever get.
Michael presses a soft kiss to William’s forehead and then tugs his hand lightly to continue walking, “Then let us go find Dustin and Lucas. I am sure they are in disarray without us.”
Dustin and Lucas were, in fact, not in disarray.
They were lounging beneath the tree that marks the southernmost border of Hawkins. Dustin was humming a jolly tune to himself, strumming his lute as if he did not have a single care in the world. A couple of leaves danced around him to the rhythm of his song. Lucas was taking stock of his arrows, meticulously examining each and every one for a flaw that they, as enchanted arrows, would probably not have.
At the sound of footsteps approaching, they both looked up and smiled at the pair.
“About time you showed up!” Dustin called. “What if we were getting brutally attacked by demo-bats and you two were frolicking in the meadow none the wiser?”
“You weren’t though, so it is fine,” Michael replied, walking up to the bard and pushing his hat down over his eyes, “Those wretched creatures haven’t even come close enough to cause any damage, let alone close enough to fight them.”
Lucas peered up at the creatures circling above, a calculating look on his face, “They are acting strange, right?” he looks over at William to see if he agrees.
“Yes, they are,” replies a voice from behind him, Jane and Maxine now joining their circle.
“It looks like they’re watching…waiting,” Maxine observes, “I did not think they were smart enough to know anything besides ‘kill’.”
“They are an extension of him,” William says quietly. “If Vecna is telling them to watch and wait, that is what they will do.”
Despite the whole Party knowing of William’s connection to Vecna, the way he seems to be able to infiltrate the sorcerer’s mind and pick apart his motives, they all still feel unsettled when William speaks like that. Laying out the cold, hard truth learned through tragic personal experience.
A couple of the demo-bats start making their way closer. Conveniently after the whole party had arrived. Too conveniently.
“They were waiting for someone,” Michael observes.
“I don’t want them to be after me this time, let’s say they were waiting for William,” Jane says as she readies herself in a fighting position. A soft purple glow begins to emanate from her hands.
“No! It is definitely your turn to be their main target, Jane!” the boy in question remarks with an affronted noise as he too starts gathering magic in his hands.
“Alright you two now is not the time,” Dustin says as he tunes his magical lute, readying it to curse rather than enchant, “I am personally going to believe it was a coincidence, and I am going to make that belief my truth.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Lucas states calmly as he notches an arrow, “not anymore.”
Michael is inclined to agree with him. They have all seen too much, been through too much to be naive. Something about this fight seemed different than the last couple dozen they have had to endure. Worry started settling in the pit of his stomach, stronger than before.
Vecna was unpredictable at the best of times. With no vision into his mind from William, they were in the dark about what was going on. This was no ordinary demo-bat attack, Michael realizes as he drew his sword. This was a trap. It had to be.
“Everyone stay vigilant,” he commands the group as they stand in a wide circle, backs facing each other, “something doesn’t feel right.”
Maxine was the first one to get a hit in once the bats got close enough. She was swift with her knives, impossible to avoid, impossible to counter. The bat she struck perishes with a screeching wail. That sound seems to set off the rest of them.
The fight is not particularly difficult, but there are just so many bats overwhelming them. Dustin charms some bats with a song, and they begin to attack each other. Lucas takes out countless with his arrows, not missing a single shot. Jane’s hand is raised and she is exploding the creatures left and right. William has a string of power flowing between all of the members, keeping a watchful eye out for any and all injuries. He is less focused on killing the bats and is rather trying to connect his mind with them, with Vecna. Michael is by his side, eliminating any of the bats that dare to get close enough to his cleric.
“It’s not working,” William says desperately, a trail of blood begins to fall from his nose, “He’s– he is not using his own magic. He has something else. I– I cannot see what it is.”
Michael was about to respond but more demo-bats began to appear, fracturing his concentration. He can faintly hear the others communicating to one another.
“Dustin on your left!”
“Cover me while I aim for the further ones!”
“They’re hardly fighting back!”
“Something is wrong.”
Something is wrong.
The very thought he himself had minutes ago, spoken aloud by Jane. Spoken into existence.
The next moment…chaos. The ground cracked, a sharp sound that drew all their attention away from the little devils. A rift began opening right in the center of their circle, tearing the earth in two right next to their feet. A rift that looked different from the ones they usually encountered. Rather than a scarlet glow with snaking vines, this one was a deep purple color, and it looked smokey.
“What the hell is that?” Maxine screamed
“It’s a portal!” Jane yelled at them.
How she knew that Michael honestly did not care. He spun towards William and pulled him behind his back, away from the rift. William was disoriented, having been yanked out of his mind by the ground shaking around them. Trust alone was why he let himself be guided by the paladin’s firm grip.
Killing bats and examining the portal at the same time turned out to be a struggle. Michael was forced to turn his attention back to the few demo-bats remaining, ridding the world of them as fast as he could.
The others seemed to be on the same wavelength as they made quick work of the bats. However, in his focus Michael did not notice the tendrils of smoke leaking from the portal out into the world. He also did not notice one such tendril circling his ankle until it was too late.
He was almost done killing the last bat near him when his foot was suddenly taken out from under him. Years of training was the only reason he did not impale himself on the sword in his hand.
“Michael!” He heard William’s panicked scream.
The anchor around his foot started pulling him back towards the glowing rift in the ground, tugging hard enough that his efforts to gain resistance from the ground were futile. He twisted around and tried to free his leg, but that was the tricky thing about magic, it often only responds to other magic.
William seemed to have the same thought.
While the others continued finishing out the fight, William dove down and grabbed one of Michael’s hands with one of his own. With the other, he started fighting against the smoke, pulling his love away from him. A golden light grappling with the purple smoke. It would be enthralling if it were not so terrifying.
The golden light would not be enough. Michael could tell. He continued to struggle, continued to fight, but the strain on William’s face was clear enough.
“I do not know what to do! I- Jane help!”
But Jane could not help, she was preoccupied and she was not close enough. The others shouted out at him, but there was no way for them to get to Michael in time.
The bleeding from William’s nose worsens as he fights against the smoke.
“William, let go!” Michael almost regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.
Almost.
“Are you crazy? No!” Tears were now falling from those lovely hazel eyes.
The pull on his foot was too strong, and he would never forgive himself if William got dragged into the darkness with him. He knew what he had to do.
If there is one part of this situation he had control over, it is this.
“I am so sorry, my love,” Was the last words he spoke before he did something he truly would regret.
He let go of William’s hand and used any leverage he had to push the love of his life away from him. Away from the danger.
The last sound he heard before he was dragged under were the screams of an angel.