Robin could confidently say that she was getting used to her powers. Even though she still struggled sometimes, like when a new kind of anger and hate entered the equation, she knew how to read minds and emotions with ease. She could manage the amount that she read from someone, manage it well enough that she wouldn't get overwhelmed, and could even communicate mentally with El.
She also got used to Steve's silence. She could barely read his emotions and couldn't even touch his mind anymore, it was as if she was completely blocked from his mind at all times. All of the times where she could talk to him before, like when she talked with him in the lab and gave him comfort as his body endured the excruciating pain of the first signs of his own powers, were in the past. Now she couldn't read him at all, it was as if his powers now knew how to block her effectively.
So when Robin suddenly experienced a burst of fear, flooding her with desperation and panic, she had to close her eyes, holding her head as more unfiltered emotions slammed into her. Worry. Doubt. Panic. Panic. Panic.
She hadn't felt this before, it was foreign. Strong.
She couldn't breath, and her hands reached out blindly, looking for something to hold onto, something to help her. A small hand took her own, but it didn't really help, all she could focus on was the fear. It wasn't the fear of the unknown, like before. It was pure, raw fear that consumed her entire being. Fear of something right in front of them, staring them in the face.
"Robin! Are you okay?" She heard someone ask, and she shook her head no.
"I can't…something…it's so strong, I can't stop it!" She exclaimed desperately.
She felt a gentle hand touch her knee, and she squinted her eyes open to see Joyce sitting in front of her, concern etched in her features.
"What are you feeling, sweetie? What's wrong?"
"Fear. So much of it. It can happen so suddenly, there's so much panic! I can't, I can't breathe! Am I going to die? Is someone dying and that's what I'm feeling?"
"Is anyone really scared right now? Is anyone panicking like this?" Hopper asked, and everyone shook their heads.
"A bit," Will admitted softly, "But not that much."
El's eyes filled with recognition as she pointed to Steve, who was still on the floor, trying to enter the Void. Steve, who had been uncharacteristically silent for the past few minutes, even through Robin's panic.
Robin tear filled eyes watched as Steve, eyes closed, shook where he sat, tremors shaking his entire body. Blood fell from his nose, his hands twitched, as if trying to reach for something that wasn't there, and his breathing was labored. A loud whimper escaped his throat, and Robin instantly knew that it was him that she felt. That was experiencing so much fear and panic.
He didn't seem aware of them, of anything at all.
"Steve? Steve, say something!" She yelled, rushing to his side and trying to shake him out of the trance that he had fallen into. She pried his eyelids open, hoping that it would wake him up, but was greeted with the whites of the back of them, the beautiful hazel that comforted her gone.
"Steve? Steve, wake up! Come on!"
Dustin began shaking him, too, slapping Steve's face when the teen still didn't respond. More panic slammed into Robin's brain, and she knew that it wasn't just from Steve this time, and she tried to force out a calm that even she herself didn't feel. But it wasn't working. None of it was working.
Wasn't he still supposed to hear them? Wasn't he supposed to be able to talk to them? Why wasn't he?
She felt more tears burn in her own eyes as she tried to wake him up, fueled with his panic as well as her own. She couldn't survive without him. She refused to.
"Harrington! Wake up!" Hopper exclaimed, falling to the ground beside Steve. Joyce joined him, and tried to stop the flow of blood coming from Steve's nose with a tissue.
Steve's breathing became more ragged, and he began gasping, choking on something that wasn't there, his body shaking even harder. Robin gripped his hand, pushing her comfort and thoughts into his brain, growing more frustrated as Steve didn't respond, not even mentally.
Something wasn't right. Something really wasn't right.
"El! What's going on? Why is he…what's going on?" Lucas asked desperately. But El looked as confused as everyone else.
"We have to go in there!" Robin yelled desperately, "We have to help him!
"We don't even know what's going on! I'm not letting El risk herself again!" Hopper shouted in response, but Robin stopped him with a glare.
"He's terrified, and whatever's going on is hurting him! We have to do something! Look at him!"
Someone began crying as a pained noise escaped Steve's throat, his hands gripping his thighs harshly. El didn't waste a second getting to her feet. She stumbled, weak from her previous attempts of finding whatever was out there, but pushed away Mike's offer of help.
She focused her gaze on Robin, her determination cutting through the panic. "Robin. Dustin. Bathroom. We're going to get him out."
"And how are you going to do that?" Hopper asked harshly, clearly not happy with what was going on, what Steve was experiencing, but El wasn't changing her mind.
"Bath. I'll find him and get him out. Dustin and Robin will help. We just got him back. I'm not losing him again. Never again."
Robin quickly followed El as the young girl turned to the bathroom, grabbing bags upon bags of salt. Dustin reluctantly left Steve's side, with a stern command of "Don't die on me, Steve!" into Steve's unresponsive expression, and joined them in the small bathroom. Joyce continued to wipe the blood from Steve's nose, while Hopper watched the trio from the doorway, eyes cautiously watching El as she put water and salt into the bathtub.
"I'll go in." El said, grabbing a cloth and wrapping it around her eyes. "I'll bring you both in with me."
"But, I thought that you couldn't see Steve or Robin." Dustin asked, desperation in his voice.
"I couldn't, not in the Void. But he is not in the Void. I don't think. He is stuck somewhere else."
"Did you want me to go by myself?" Robin asked, but El shook her head.
"It would take too much time to teach you how. This is easier. I know how, and you and Dustin can get him out. He trusts you both. You can help him. "
As soon as the bath was filled with warm water and salt, El stepped in, taking a deep breath, and let Dustin and Robin hold her hand. Robin could hear from El's calm mind that she hadn't done this before, but Robin wasn't afraid of what El was doing. If she trusted anyone with Steve's safety, it was El.
El's mind wasn't the only one she could hear. She managed to push away the panicked thoughts and feelings of everyone around her, everyone but Steve's and focused on him. He was still scared, so, so scared, and his small voice filtered into her mind.
Let me out let me out please it couldn't have been all been a dream it couldn't have been please please please.
Robin vaguely wondered why she could hear him now. But she didn't really care. All she wanted was for him to be safe.
"Clear your mind. Follow my lead." El said, and Robin regretfully let Steve's voice leave her mind, trying to stay calm when the panic was still present. She closed her eyes, and let El lead them into the Void, or wherever El thought that Steve was.
She felt something shift in her chest, and she opened her eyes to see herself holding Dustin's hand, the boy's expression one of shock and fear.
"We're here." El said, standing, the blindfold off of her face, and Robin realized that they weren't in the bathroom, or the Void, but in a room that was brightly lit, one that was all too familiar. She went shock still, observing the tools and tables around her, a sickening feeling in her gut.
"Where…where are we?" Dustin asked, his eyes wide. "Is this the Void?"
"No. The Void is dark. This has to be Steve's mind." El said simply, looking around with a frown on her face. "A memory, I think."
"It is. This was where一" Robin's voice broke as she continued to look around. "This was where Papa tested us."
Dustin cast her a worried look before giving her hand a comforting squeeze. She squeezed it back, trying to ignore the panic that still droned on in her mind.
She took a shaky step towards a table, carefully picking up a clipboard that was discarded there. There wasn't much written on it, and she couldn't make out the words through the tears in her eyes. She wiped them away, and opened her mouth to say something, anything, but was interrupted by Dustin's screams.
"Steve!"
The younger boy bolted to a container in the middle of the room, filled with water, a body thrashing inside of it. Her heart pounded as she ran over to it, recognizing the boy inside.
Hair shaven, wearing a white suit, but still her best friend. It was Steve.
A memory flashed in her head, swiftly stealing her breath from her already struggling lungs.
Did they drown you?
I…I thought I was gonna die, but then I could breathe underwater.
I thought that I was going to die.
I thought that I was going to die.
Dustin began pounding on the glass, begging for Steve to be okay, to stay with them, and El tried to throw the chairs at the container, as if it would break. It didn't.
Robin couldn't see past Steve's frantic gaze, bubbles escaping his mouth too fast, way too fast, his limbs moving slower and slower as his body began giving up. His hazel eyes began to close, and Dustin screamed, fighting the glass more frantically.
"Steve! Stay with us!"
"Fight this!" El exclaimed, and a wave of powerlessness rushed over Robin. She didn't know who it came from, but Robin forced herself to calm down.
She knew the outcome of this memory. She knew what happened. She could stop this.
Pressing her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the fear and panic and despair, she closed her eyes, breathing as deeply as she could. She found Steve's mind easily, and focused all of her power, all of her energy, on three simple words.
This isn't real. This isn't real.
She knew that it felt real to everyone in this mindscape, to Steve especially, who hadn't stopped panicking, though his emotions had become weaker as his body lost all strength. But it wasn't. This wasn't real. It was, but it wasn't now. He was alive, in the real world, surrounded by the people that he cared about, people that cared for him, too. He was surrounded by strength and love and hope, and all he had to do was cling to it.
She told him as much, and hoped that he could hear her.
I'm here, Steve. She thought, sending out the words to whoever would hear her. We all are.
A crack resounded around her, and she looked up to see the cage shatter, shards of glass raining down on them as water spilled out. Steve stumbled out, falling to the cold ground with a gasp, sobbing as he struggled to expel the water from his lungs. He was dripping wet, shivering, and began gagging. Dustin rushed to his side, holding Steve when the older boy couldn't hold himself up anymore, his arms crumbling under his own weight.
"Let it out, Steve, let it out. I got you, dude."
El and Robin didn't waste a second in joining them, the water from the cage soaking their pants and skin. Steve clung onto Dustin desperately, and reached out to Robin as soon as she was close enough.
"RーRob'n?"
She sent as much calm into his mind as she could, but it was as if the walls of his mind were already coming up, stopping her from doing so again.
"It's me, I'm here. It's okay. You're safe."
"Breathe." El added. "Just breathe."
Dustin gave Steve a firm hug. "You're okay, buddy, you're okay."
More tears fell from Steve's cheeks, mixing with the water on his face from the cage, and he sobbed into Dustin's neck, his body shaking with fear and emotion.
At that moment, Robin was thankful for Dustin. He was in an unknown, scary place, holding his best friend who had lied to him, his best friend that had a shaved head and wearing strange clothes, yet didn't even ask one question. He cared for Steve like a brother, and Robin couldn't be more grateful for it.
Steve needed someone like Dustin. He needed someone to always be there, no matter how many tears were cried. Robin just never expected that it would come from a kid.
She didn't know how long they sat there, trying to sooth Steve's cries, but nothing seemed to be working. He just wouldn't stop crying, wouldn't stop shaking, and Robin knew that this must've broken him. Their pillar of support, shattered because of a horrific memory, an event that he should've never experienced.
After a few more moments, El gently put her hand on Steve's shoulder, a deep frown on her face.
"Steve. We have to get back. We have to go home."
"But, how?" Dustin asked softly. "He didn't do this, did he?"
"It's his mind. He's in control."
Dustin sighed but then turned to Steve, whispering into his ear.
"Hey, buddy? Are you able to get us home?"
"I can't." Steve moaned disheartedly. "I can't. I can't. I can't."
"Okay, that's okay. We'll find another way."
El then got to her feet, looking around the room, as if searching for a way to get out, but Robin knew that there wasn't one.
"Mike?" She asked, raising her voice. "Hop?"
"El?" They all heard Hopper say, his voice an echo in the room. "Is everything alright? Did you find him?"
"Yes, but he's hurt. We can't get back."
"Could you just…force yourself out?" Mike asked from around them, and El sighed.
"No. But we'll figure it out. Just give us time."
"Stay safe, El. We're all here." Hopper finished, and then the room went silent once again.
Robin, after giving Steve a quick hug, her heart breaking as he still sobbed, stood up and sent her mind's reach out further, hoping to understand how to get out of his mind. She couldn't read much, but as she focused harder, could feel another presence in Steve's mind. It was cold, calculated, and strong. Too strong.
"Someone else is affecting Steve's mind." Robin said quietly, and El looked at her, confused.
"You feel something?"
"Yes. It's not any of us. It can't be Steve, either. Something else is in his mind."
Dustin suddenly let out a yelp, clutching his head, and Steve pulled away from him, eyes wide and scared.
"Dust'n? Wha…?"
"Nothing." Dustin gasped out, struggling to breath. "Just a headache."
"You shouldn't be able to get headaches here." El said firmly. "That isn't possible."
"It…it feels like I have one."
Robin gasped as the presence that she felt grew stronger, throbbing under her skin like an unwelcome sensation, tickling her mind with something so cold it made her shiver. Dustin screamed, and Steve held onto him, trying to comfort him in between sobs.
They all watched as Dustin vanished right in front of their eyes, his screams silenced, leaving Steve holding nothing but air.
"Dustin? Dustin!" Steve exclaimed, panicking, and Robin couldn't help the worry that filled her own heart, her own mind.
"Hopper!" El yelled to the roof. "Where's Dustin? Where is he? Mike? Joyce? Hop?"
There was no response. No one was responding. Could they even hear them?
Steve didn't stop crying, didn't stop begging for his brother to come back. "Dustin! Dustin, please! Where are you? Please!"
Robin didn't know what to do, so she rushed to wrap Steve in her arms, letting him fight her weakly as he thrashed, but lacked the strength to do anything.
"He's okay. He has to be. Just calm down, Steve! He's going to be okay!"
The lights flickered above them, and El backed up closer to them, her eyes wide.
And, not four paces away, stood a man with blonde hair, wearing a pure white outfit, a gentle smile on his face.