Chapter 3 – Of powers and pain

An hour had passed since Will woke up in Mike's basement. Now, the fourteen year old boy was sitting at the kitchen table picking at the food on his plate listlessly.

He had rested a bit longer (trying to bring some order to the chaos in his head), had taken a quick shower and had changed his damp, smelly shirt for a fresh one he had found in the basement. In a drawer, to be more precise, in which he had stored a few of his clothes two years ago – back then when he visited Mike frequently including many spontaneous sleepovers.

The yellow and brown striped shirt he wore now was clinging tightly against his body – and admittedly it was a bit too short.
Yes, he had grown during the last year. He wasn't the skinny little kid anymore. He had put on some muscle, his childlike features had partially disappeared. A normal teenage boy surely would have been pleased with what he saw in the mirror every morning while brushing his teeth. For Will instead it just increased the conflict within him. The fact that his body had visibly matured only made it clearer that his mind had not. He was still struggling with growing up. He still wanted to play D&D or Nintendo with his friends for the rest of his life, getting lost in all those fantasy worlds. Escaping from reality which seemed a lot more frightening to him than orcs, demons or any other devilish creature.

Stupid fantasy worlds. Childish dreams.

Will had often wondered if fear was the main reason for his struggling – the fear of losing his friends. To see one after another slip through his fingers like fine sand. To see them growing up, having girlfriends, being happy. He was afraid of being left behind. Especially by Mike who, during the last year, had given him a little taste of what to expect.
Sometimes Will imagined how twenty years from now his friends and their wives were sitting at the dinner table together, drinking wine, chatting:
"Do you remember that guy from our childhood? The one we used to play D&D with."
"Will?"
"Yeah, man, that was his name. I wonder what became of him…"

As crazy as it sounded, but there had been moments in the past months when he felt like the only circumstance that still kept the party together was the constant threat from the Upside Down. The rational part of his brain knew this was unfair and untrue. But there was another part, and what if that part knew better? What if the strong bond between him, Mike, Dustin and Lucas would break as soon as Vecna died?

"Dude, you have to eat!", Dustin said eagerly, who had prepared some scrambled eggs with bacon for him. "Traveling to hell and back must make even your stomach growl", he grinned while shovelling some of his own food into his mouth. Will smiled back and forced himself to swallow a bite. In fact, the rumbling in his midsection was the only feeling in his body which bothered him right now. The intense pain that had taken his breath away an hour ago was gone as if it had never been there. Will had wondered why he regenerated so quickly but decided just to accept it. It wasn't the worst that could happen to him after all.

He was indeed hungry, like Dustin had assumed. But even though his body sent him unmistakable signals (and the bacon tasted delicious), he didn't really have an appetite.
He still felt miserable about Mike's reaction and wanted nothing more than to sort things out with his best friend, but he was also utterly confused about all he had heard during their conversation down in the basement. It's not every day you learn that you have some kind of superpower, is it? And he still couldn't believe it. He couldn't feel it. Perhaps because he didn't have any practice at all?

A silly thought crossed his mind when Will noticed the salt shaker on the table.
And he started to concentrate.
At least he could give it a try.
He clenched his fists and began… to stare.

Move.

Of course, Dustin didn't miss the odd behaviour of his friend. At first, he felt the urge to chuckle, but resisted instead, leaned back in his chair and watched.

Move.

Will felt incredibly stupid and strangely excited at the same time. He still believed to be a perfectly unspectacular human being whose most extraordinary ability was being able to make large chewing gum bubbles with his nose. But then there was that tiny little "What if" somewhere in one of the deep corners of his brain. What if he was a second Luke Skywalker who just needed his personal own Yoda to show him how to use the Force?

Move.

"I already told you that yours are different", a voice said behind him. El stood in the doorway, smirking. "Don't waste your time, Will."

Dustin giggled. "You know dude, if you needed the salt so badly, I could've just passed it over to you."

Will grinned but he was also a bit frustrated about his failure.

"Don't be disappointed", El said who seemed to read his mind. "I'm sure your skills lie elsewhere." She frowned. "And we have to figure out where."

"But how?", Will asked.

"I don't know yet." She sighed. Then El grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge and turned around to leave the room. Before she left, she glanced back over her shoulder. "Mike's outside by the way." She winked at him and left. And he understood the message.

As Will stepped out into the garden, his heart began to beat faster. His best friend was sitting on the old red swing they had used so often when they were little children, his ears covered by the headphones of his walkman. Lost in his thoughts, he stared into the distance where columns of black smoke darkened the skies. It was a strange sight, Will thought. There were so many good memories associated with this garden for him, it was a familiar place for him, a zone of safety and comfort. And yet even here the impending doom couldn't be ignored.

At least, the Wheeler's house hadn't been destroyed when the earth broke up. In fact, it was in a part of the city that had remained almost undamaged.
When Mike's parents left Hawkins with his younger sister Holly, he and Nancy could convince them to let them stay a little longer helping their friends gather their belongings. The agreement was that they would come after them to their grandparents in Michigan as soon as possible. Thanks to Nancy's convincing performance as responsible daughter and caring sister, they succeeded.

But of course they had lied. Mike and Nancy never intended to leave Hawkins. Neither did the rest of the party. After everything that had happened, they knew it would have to end right here. And that they had to be involved in whatever outcome there would be. So, it was a perfectly fitting coincidence when two days later the military declared the whole town a forbidden zone. Nobody was allowed to enter Hawkins without permission, nobody was allowed to leave.

Indeed, there was a great number of inhabitants, mostly elder people, who refused to leave their homes. Since the day Vecna opened his gates they tried to live a life as normal as possible under the given circumstances. And admittingly, that seemed to work quite well. There hadn't been any sort of panic yet, which was attributed at least partially to the narrative the military used to calm everybody down. In the news they were constantly talking about an earthquake and some disruptions in the magnetic field of the earth caused by the seismic activities. For that, nobody seemed to worry much about the red sky because it was explained as some kind of rare natural phenomenon associated to the incident. Additionally, the military had sealed every possible way to get to the gigantic cracks in the ground so nobody could see the vague shadows moving in the red mass.

Will was shocked about how easily people could be manipulated and how eager everybody seemed to believe even the most hair-raising story as long as it didn't contradict their worldview.

But right now, it wasn't the right time to get upset about strangers. Because there was someone only a few feet away he knew all too well.

Will approached Mike cautiously so as not to startle him. When his friend saw him, he pulled the headphones from his ears. The boys smiled briefly at each other.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"May I?", Will asked and pointed on the second swing next to Mike.

"Of course." Mike's voice was a little hoarse.

For a moment they sat silent. Then Will decided to take the initiative.

"Mike, I'm really sorry I scared you so much."

Mike sighed, then shook his head. "Are you starting it again?"

Will wanted to apologize but bit his lip instead. Another moment of silence followed.

"I didn't mean to be rude earlier", Mike finally said quietly. "But I just couldn't take it anymore."

Will looked at him questioningly.

"Will, I hate it when you do that to yourself. I always hated it. It makes me sick, to be honest. And I hate it even more after everything what happened since you have been to the Upside Down."

"Hate what?", Will asked confused.

"Like I said earlier", Mike replied and gave him a strange look, "I hate it when you make yourself smaller than you really are. When you pretend to be worthless. To be weak."

"But I-"

Mike raised a hand to cut him off. "Will, up on that hill you've said some pretty nice shit about me. In fact, some of the nicest things I've ever heard." He smiled sadly. "And what you said finally made things clearer for me. I think I understand now what you tried to tell me."

Will straightened up in his seat. His heartbeat picked up even more speed.

"I knew I made a lot of mistakes", Mike continued. "And even if El's my girlfriend, I should have worshiped our friendship so much more."

Will felt his mouth getting dry. Really dry.

Mike looked at him smiling again, but this time there was no sadness but only compassion.

"I think I'm finally able to understand now what a true best friend really is", he said. And Will felt his heart, filled with all his hopes, fall into the abyss. "I took so much for granted, Will. I took you for granted." Mike sighed. "But, up there on that hill, after you said those things to me and after I thought that I've…", his voice cracked shortly. "…that I've lost you, I finally realized how much you mean to me, Will."

Mike looked at him through watery eyes. "That I'm truly lost without my best friend. And that I need you as much as you need me. And you know why?" Will shook his head, his eyes filled with tears now too. "Because without your wisdom and your ability to give strength to other people, there would be no paladin. There would be no inspiring leader, no heart, as you called me."

Mike raised from his seat on the swing and signalled to Will to do the same. Then he grabbed the shoulders of his younger friend and forced him to look him straight into the eyes. "That's why I get angry and frustrated when you call yourself weak, Will. Because you are not. In fact, you are the strongest person I know. You came back from hell three fucking times, man! How dare you call yourself weak!"

Then Mike pulled him into a tight hug and soon both boys sobbed into each other's shoulder.

"I thought I've lost you for good up there, Will", Mike finally managed to choke out. "And you know pretty damn well that a paladin without his cleric surely stands no chance even against a level one hobgoblin."

On every other occasion, Mike's choice of words would have made Will laugh. But not this time. This time, Will was devastated. Even though Mike had just performed perhaps the most loving song of friendship the world had ever heard, he wasn't even close to being happy.

You got it all wrong, Mike.

Oh, so wrong.

And for that, Will's tears quickly soaked his best friend's shirt. The best friend he wanted so badly to be more than that. He pulled him to him as tightly as he could, knowing that this would be the closest he would ever be to Mike.

But there wasn't much time for grief.

As soon as the two boys entered the house, they were already awaited by Dustin and El. The girl smiled when she saw Mike's and Will's red and swollen eyes, result of a highly anticipated reconciliation between friends. Dustin on the other hand was, well, he was Dustin. And therefore completely focused on the plan he and El had worked out.

"Guys, I think we should inform the others about what happened", he said, and before Will could start his protest, he quickly added: "Because we need every single braincell that can help us figuring out what to do next."

El agreed. "They should know."

Will looked desperately at Mike but his best friend nodded. "I think, they're right, Will. There's nothing to hide anymore. We should work as a team. Like we always did."

An hour later they sat in the provisionally restored living room of Hopper's old cabin in the forest. Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Joyce had their eyes locked on Will who shifted uncomfortably on the couch, their gaze showing deep and utter disbelief. The only one missing was Lucas who didn't want to leave Max' side in the hospital at all. Far from being missing but instead pacing back and forth around the room, visibly fuming, was Hopper.

"Bullshit!", he said again as he had at least five times during the last few minutes. "That's impossible."

"It is not", Mike replied angrily. "I saw it with my own eyes, like I already said. Will kicked Vecna right in the balls!"

"Language, boy", Hopper shouted before looking over to Will's mum. "Do you really believe that, Joyce?"

Joyce Beyers didn't object. In fact, she said nothing at all and just stared at her youngest son, her lips silently forming the word "honey" over and over again. Will knew that she was still coming to terms with the fact that he had narrowly escaped his own death a few hours ago.

"Mum, I'm fine, really", Will tried to calm her down.

Mike, paladin Mike, was the one to interfere again.

"When we saw El using her powers for the first time, we couldn't believe it either, right?", he asked provokingly. "But we've learned that we were wrong. Why shouldn't it be any different with Will? Why's there such a big difference for you?" Seeing Mike step up for him made Will's heart jump even if he knew his friend didn't do it for the reason he hoped for.

"Because he's…", Hopper began, pointing on Will. But when he recognized Jonathan's furious gaze, he stopped. Will didn't have to hear it. He knew what Hopper wanted to say.

A wimp.

"No, he's not", El said and gave Hopper one of those scary looks that only she could give. "He blocked Henry at least partially from entering his mind. And he blocked me. Will is strong."

Steve cleared his throat before saying: "Hey, Hop, I really think you underestimate our little friend here. If you expect every hero to have the standard Superman-look then just look at Mr. Tooth Fairy here and learn that you're wrong."

"Hey!", Dustin snapped before realizing that his older friend just had complimented him. When Steve gave him a wink, Dustin started grinning widely.

Hopper sighed and glanced over to Will. "Kid, I like you, I really do. But to be honest, it's hard for me to believe that you are the one to beat Vecna with your bare hands."

Mike jumped out of his seat. "Nobody ever said anything like that! But he came back three times from the Upside Down. Do you really think it was just dumb luck all the time?"

Mike sat down again and mumbled just loud enough for Hopper to hear: "And I really thought the Russians knocked some sense into him…"

Hopper's face turned bright red. "How dar-"

"STOP IT!"

Now it was Joyce's turn to jump out of her seat. And everybody went silent.

"Perhaps we should talk to Will instead of talking about him", she said. Then she gave Will a motherly smile. "Honey, is it true that…", she stopped. "How do you call him?"

"Vecna", Dustin replied.

"That this Vecna said you were special?"

Will nodded. "And I know he meant it like that."

Hopper grunted. "How do you know that?"

"Because I feel it", Will answered quietly. "I feel…him. I know he's thinking very hard right now. Because something happened he didn't expect."

Will straightened in his seat before he continued.

"Listen, Hop. I know that I'm not the prototype of a hero in your imagination. And believe me, neither in my own."

He swallowed.

"Actually, I don't feel special or powerful at all right now. In fact, it has been quite miserable for me lately." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mike frowning. "But I can feel there's something happening. With me, I mean. For two years now I can feel the connection to the Upside Down. The connection to…Him. And there hasn't been one single day I didn't wish to get rid of it. To get him out of my head. But now, for the first time, I feel that this connection can be so much more than just a menacing tingling on the back of my neck.
And I'm able to put one and one together. I can see the possibility that there is a certain part for me to play in this nightmare. That there's more in store for me than getting kidnapped or being possessed, you know? I'm sick of being saved. I'm sick of getting those looks from you all as if I might be controlled by the Mindflayer every second again. And if there's a chance for me of getting back at this bastard, I really want to take it."

When Will had finished his little speech, he saw some tears in the eyes of his mother. Jonathan just looked at him proudly. Even Hopper seemed impressed, at least a tiny little bit.

"But – and let's assume for a moment everything you told us is true - you don't even know what kind of special ability you have, let alone how to use it", the chief insisted.

"That's why we have to find that out, dad", El finally said.

"But how?"

For a short time, everybody was thinking in silence.

"Can you train him, El?", Steve finally asked. But the girl shook her head. "Perhaps I can help him sharpen his senses a bit. But I sense that he is very different from me."

"We need some kind of specialist, someone who can analyse what's going on with Will", Nancy constated.

"Yeah, Nance, that's true", Jonathan replied, "but with Brenner dead and the lab destroyed by the military, unfortunately there isn't much left."

"There is someone", Dustin said and scratched his head.

As everyone looked at him questioningly, he started to grin and turned to El.
"Can't you guess, kiddo?"

"Dr. Owens!", Mike shouted out excitedly. "That's it! Dustin, you are a genius!"

"Not bad, kid", Hopper said to Dustin. "We surely could use some of his knowledge here."

"But he was in the lab when the soldiers came", Will pointed out. "We don't even know if he's still alive."

"I can find out."

El looked determined.

"We need salt. A lot of salt."