A/N: I do not own Stranger Things.

We're in this Together, Brother

Chapter 1

"So…" Nancy started. "There's this… special assembly tonight for Will at the school field. Barb's driving."

Karen faced her, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "Why am I just now hearing about this?"

"I thought you knew." Nancy insisted.

"I told you I don't want you out after dark until Will is found." Karen stated.

"I know," Nancy replied, not intending to give up easily. "but it would be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going."

"No, Nancy." Karen remained firm. "I don't want you our after dark and that is that. In fact, I have a task for you."

Nancy looked up, eyes wide in shock, obviously unexpecting her mother interfering her plans. "A task?"

"Yes," the blonde woman nodded. "It's about Mike. He wasn't feeling well, so I allowed him to skip school today. Poor boy, he is really sad of Will missing." she explained. "I worry for him, so can you please keep an eye for him tonight."

Nancy felt her blood turn into ice. Today was supposed to be special when she would get closer with Steve. And now it was all ruined, and all thanks to her annoying little brother. It happened yesterday when his stupid friend disappeared, and now it was happening again.

"Mom, wait! I can't!" the girl protested. "Why do I have to babysit him? Why can't you do it?"

"Because I have things to do, and I won't be at home for the evening." Karen explained. "As you already know, your father would arrive home very late, so that leaves you."

"But mom!"

"Nancy, please!" Karen insisted. "He is your brother."

"Why can't you just sent him to one of his stupid friends?" she asked her brother incredulously.

"Because I want you all here, at home." Karen insisted. Nancy was about to argue once again, but already groaned in frustration. Arguing with her mother was useless. Nancy knew that she now had no choice but to be stuck with her annoying brother.

"Alright." Nancy grumbled.

"You sure…"

"Yes, mom." Nancy assured her, raising her arms up. "Don't worry. It's just one night after all."

Hesitant, Karen nodded. She then approached the staircase leading to the basement, Mike's favourite place.

"Michael! Come here for a minute, please!" she called out. Soon, Mike came out from the basement.

"What is it, mom?" he asked, noticing that his sister was also present.

"Listen, Michael," the woman started explaining. "Dad won't be here for dinner. He would arrive very late, and I have to go out, so that means you two are being left home."

"Of course, mom." Mike nodded, Nancy noticed the satisfaction in his voice. "You said to stay at home after dark."

"That's not the only reason, sonny." Karen continued. "You weren't feeling well today, and so Nancy will take care of you. If anything happens, tell her and she will help you."

Just like when Karen told Nancy that she was to babysit her brother, Mike's eyes widened in shock as he glanced at his sister. The least thing he needed was Nancy watching over him.

"Mom, there's no need" he began trying to assure his mother. "I will be fine without…"

"Michael, your friend is missing." Karen insisted. "Nancy can help you."

Sighing heavily, the boy gave up. Just like Nancy, he understood that arguing with his mother was useless.

"Alright then" he finally mumbled. Ignoring his attitude, Karen smiled.

"Wonderful." she stated. "Well then, I shall be going."

In a couple of minutes, both Nancy and Mike stood, watching Karen leave the house. Once she was gone and they closed the door, Nancy grabbed Mike by the collar of his jumper.

"I don't know what you told mom today," Nancy spoke in a deadly tone. "But you will pay for this, you twerp."

"What? Your date with Steve was cancelled again?" Mike asked, rather cheekily. Nancy gave him a glare. Inside herself, the girl was literally screaming.

"Don't try my patience, turd." she hissed. "I was trapped here at home, all thanks to you and your stupid friend…"

"Will is not stupid!" he yelled back. "And it is not his fault that you didn't get Steve's dick inside you!"

Nancy began breathing hardly. God, she really wanted to do something to her brother. The young boy was getting on her nerves right now, but her conscience stood in front of her, stopping her. Instead, she took deep breaths.

"Alright, you got me stuck with me." Nancy finally spoke once again. "But I will be the one setting the conditions" she declared. "Stay out of my way, and I will leave you alone. Stay away from my room, and I will invade your privacy."

Looking away from his sister, Mike considered her conditions. Although he was angry at her now, he knew that the conditions were quite satisfiable to him. Nancy wouldn't then come down to the basement, and El would not be discovered for today at least.

"I guess, I could just stay in the basement." he suggested. "As long as you don't come down there."

"Good." Nancy only said in response. "I wasn't really hoping to have you seeing reason."

"Whatever." Mike huffed. "Now, may I go now?"

"Yes," the girl answered. "Get out of my sight."

She didn't have to repeat it again as Mike quickly dashed back towards the basement. Satisfied for now, Nancy felt the desire to go and take a shower. At least, cold water would calm her down. Grabbing a towel and a bathrobe, Nancy headed for the bathroom. Stripping off her clothes, Nancy turned on the water before entering.

As soon as she was done, Nancy came out, drying her head with her towel as she walked back to her room. Once she entered, the teenage girl froze as she immediately saw her closet open, and not only that, but some of her old clothes were also dropped on the floor. Nancy wasn't a detective, but it was obvious that someone came in, opened her closet, and took some of her old clothes, dropping some on the way. Only one person was capable of doing this.

"Mike!" Nancy immediately screamed in anger. She then mentally cursed, reprimanding herself for believing that Mike would not break the deal. Rage filled her as she vowed that her little brother was going to pay dearly for this. Wasting no time, Nancy stomped down the stairs, arriving to the door leading to the basement. She literally banged at the door.

"Mike! I know you're down there! Come out at once!" she demanded. It took some time for Mike to finally answer the door as Nancy stood there in her bathrobe.

"What do you want, Nancy?" he asked in annoyance.

"What is your problem you twerp?" she almost yelled.

"My problem?" Mike asked incredulously. "You're the one who is now breaking our agreement."

"Don't play innocent, Mike!" Nancy yelled. "You're the one who broke it first! You broke into my closet and stole my clothes!"

Mike only rolled his eyes. "These are your old clothes. They're too small for you. Why do you even care?"

"Old or new, small or big, it doesn't matter." Nancy argued. "You broke into my room, and stole from me. Now, I will go down and take what is rightfully mine. I will deal with you later."

Mike immediately raced to block her entrance to the staircase. Nancy quickly noticed that he looked panicked, but she didn't care.

"You can't come down there, Nancy!" he declared in panic.

"Oh, I'm afraid I can, twerp." Nancy hissed. She tried to head downstairs, but Mike blocked her entrance once again. He kept glancing at the basement and back at her.

"Don't try my patience, Mike." she threatened, but Mike wasn't scared of her. Losing her patience, Nancy finally managed to push her brother aside and ignoring his protests, she stomped down the stairs. Once she entered, Nancy immediately found a blanket fort built across the basement. However, she instantly froze when she saw the inhabitant of it.

A girl around Mike's age with a shaved head was bundled up in blankets. The moment she heard them, the girl looked up, eyes widened in fear as she saw Nancy standing across the basement in front of her. Nancy's jaw dropped as Mike caught up with her.

"Mike?" the girl whimpered, as if calling out to Mike for help.

"Mike, what is going on?" Nancy asked her brother once she faced him again. "Who is this girl?"

"Just leave, Nancy." Mike asked her in a rude tone. "It's none of your business."

"Oh no," she denied in response. "You better tell me what's going on here."

"I don't have to."

"Well," Nancy then said, crossing her arms. "you wouldn't then mind if I will phone mom and tell her what you've been hiding here."

Mike panicked once again as Nancy was about to head upstairs. "No, Nancy! Please don't tell mom! She must not know!"

"That's what you get, Mike." Nancy only told him coldly, pushing him aside. She ascended up the stairs when suddenly, the door before her slammed close. Nancy froze shocked. There was no wind outside, nor the windows were open anywhere. Not to mention the girl felt like a flow of energy.

"No."

Hearing the stranger girl to speak, Nancy spined around and saw blood coming out from the girl's nose. Mike sat beside the mystery girl, wrapping his arms around her. Nancy immediately guessed that the girl closed the door before her. She didn't know how she did it, but she somehow did it. Nancy gulped as this both shocked and terrified her.

"Mike," she gulped again. "Stay away from her. She's dangerous…"

"She is not dangerous!" her brother yelled, making the girl wince at his outburst.

"Mike, she just did… she closed… with her…"

"She's not dangerous!" Mike said it again. "Please Nancy, don't tell our parents! They cannot know!"

"Why can't they know?" Nancy asked in frustration, already baffled about the whole situation. It was the girl who answered instead of Mike.

"Bad men."

Nancy looked at her. "What?" she asked.

"Bad men" the girl repeated, making a gesture of a gun and pointing it at her head. It finally hit Nancy. Whoever this girl was, she was in big trouble and some bad people were searching for her. Apparently, they were quite influential and dangerous, if she and Mike did not tell his parents, nor reported to the police. Deep in thought, Nancy looked around the basement. She looked at the blanket fort and the clothes the girl was wearing. These were Nancy's old clothes when she was twelve, just as Mike was now. Nancy finally understood the reason for Mike's theft, he was getting clothes for the girl. Then she recalled Mike's recent actions which were considered weird. Such as taking more food than usual when he was preparing breakfast. He was doing it for her.

Nancy finally understood the next thing; Mike was taking care of her, something she never saw him doing, and apparently, he was doing quite a good job. And Nancy found it impressive, suddenly feeling pride for her brother, who only a few minutes back was a little demon to her.

She then heard a stomach rumbling and looked back at the two kids who were staring back at her. The rumble was heard again and Nancy finally understood that it was the girl's stomach.

"Alright," she finally spoke. "Come on, I'll make you dinner."

Sharing hesitant looks, both Mike and the girl followed her. Nancy felt that they harboured some distrust in regards to her, and while that pained her, she couldn't really blame them. As they reached the kitchen, Nancy addressed the girl once again.

"What's your name?" she asked. Nancy was confused when instead of answering, the girl revealed her right wrist to her. Nancy's eyes widened in horror as a number with three digits, 011, was tattooed on the wrist.

"What is that?" she asked, almost exclaiming. A shaved head, and a number tattooed on a wrist; it was as if this girl escaped from a Nazi concentration camp. Nancy recalled during one of her history lessons, that inmates of these camps, such as Auschwitz and Dachau, not only had their heads shaved, but also had the identification numbers tattooed on their wrists.

Without a word, the girl pointed at herself.

"Is… is that what they call you?" she asked, almost whispering. "The bad men?"

The girl nodded. It was Mike then who interfered.

"Her name is El." he told his sister, who turned to him. "Short for Eleven."

"Like Mike, short for Michael." the girl, El, added. Nancy looked back at El. From the girl's voice, it was as if El learned this only recently.

"Okay, El. Who are your parents?" she asked. El looked up at her with confusion.

"P-Parents?" she asked, as if hearing this word for the first time. Nancy looked up at Mike, her mouth agape. Mike only sadly nodded.

"Where are you from, El?" Nancy asked in a soft voice.

"From… a… bad… p-place." El answered, slowly, with hesitance, as if she was unsure of she said the sentence properly.

Nancy felt her heart break. Some bad people had done something horrible to this girl. She was abused for god knows how long. Apparently for a very long time, since El spoke as if she just recently learned how to speak, make long sentences. She didn't have basic language skills because of those bastards, the Bad Men, whoever they were.

Nancy felt the urge and desire to help this poor girl.

"You know what," she spoke, as gentle as she could. "How about we go and I'll give you a shower first? Then, we'll have dinner together?"

El looked at Mike, who nodded, assuring her that she could trust the older girl. With hesitance, she allowed Nancy to lead her upstairs to the bathroom. Mike sat on the chair in the dinning room, considering the latest events. He wondered whether it was good or bad that his sister did find out about El.

Apparently, Nancy was not going to rat him and El out, but on the other hand, he was unsure of her caring. In Mike's point-of-view, Nancy completely became dismissive of him, especially when she began dating that douchebag Steve. He thought she was becoming selfish, especially when she blamed Will for her date with Harrington being ruined last night. Mike back then was enraged at her.

Soon, his sister came down, with Nancy finally dressed after wearing only a bathrobe. Mike watched as Nancy began searching the kitchen for anything to eat.

"What did she even eat?" she suddenly asked her brother. Mike looked up.

"Candy, leftover, Eggos." Mike listed. He then chuckled at the mention of the waffles. "She especially loves Eggos."

Nancy then stopped what she was doing, but her back continued to face her brother. "I knew you were acting weird," she spoke with some guilt. "But I thought it was because of Will."

"Well," Mike stammered. He was feeling uneasy as this was literally the first time he and Nancy were having a proper conversation. "I knew you were acting weird too, but I thought it was because of Steve."

"Well, you're actually right" she turned to face him, smiling. Her smile made Mike freeze. He could not remember when it was the last time Nancy smiled at him. Genuinely smiled. It was at that moment that El came down, wearing new clothes Nancy gave her.

"Pretty?" she suddenly asked, voice filled with wary and shyness.

Both the Wheeler siblings nodded. "Pretty."

Soon, the three sat eating what Nancy found. El literally plunged at the food, hunger reigning over her. Once again, Nancy felt pain in her heart. Back then, in the bathroom upstairs, when she took off El's clothes to have her bathed, Nancy was horrified when she saw the girl's body. She was so skinny. Not only was she abused and did not have basic social and English skills, but apparently where she was kept, El wasn't properly fed. Who were those Bad Men and what was wrong with them? How could they do this to a child like El?

Considering the questions in her head, Nancy broke the silence once again. "So, Mike?" she addressed her brother. "How did you find her?"

Freezing, the boy looked up at Nancy from his plate and gulped. "Well," he began. "Last night, when mom told us to stay at home, I contacted Lucas and Dustin. We decided to go out and look for Will. We went to the forest, it was lashing. Instead of Will, we found El. She was literally freezing. She was wearing only a shirt and had no shoes. When I gave her clothes to change, she tried to change right in front of us."

"What?" Nancy exclaimed. The mere idea that El was used to change clothes and be bare right in front of other people, especially males, disgusted and horrified her. Another evidence of an abuse.

"Mike," she spoke to her brother again. "Just one more thing; where exactly in the forest did you find her?"

"In Mirkwood." Mike asked, causing Nancy to give him a confused look. "It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet."

Nodding, Nancy set her fork aside, sitting deep in thought. She began squeezing out anything she knew about that place. She then remembered that the Hawkins National Laboratory was nearby. Wait? Hawkins National Laboratory? It was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy, yes, but from what Nancy heard, there were rumours that the government was producing weapons against the Soviet Union there.

Nancy mentally shook her head. Shaved head, telekinesis, tattoo on a wrist, Hawkins National Lab, rumours about weapons. Will disappeared not far away from it. This all sounded either like a bizarre conspiracy theory, or a science fiction story to the teenage girl, but still, everything of it seemed logical and connected in Nancy's mind. With horror in her eyes, she looked up at El, who was busy eating.

When the three finished their dinner, Nancy allowed Mike and El go back to the basement when the blanket fort was. Once they left, Nancy raced towards the telephone. She really needed help. Before she took the phone, however, Nancy stopped. She began considering her next moves. After some thinking, Nancy took the telephone and dialled the number she wanted.

"Hello?" the familiar voice was heard.

"Barb, it's me, Nancy" she answered.

"Nance, where are you?" Barb immediately questioned her. "I thought we were going to Steve's place."

"Yeah, about that." Nancy spoke. "My mom doesn't want me to go out after dark, so I'm staying here, babysitting Mike. I was thinking, would you like to come to my place?"

"To babysit your brother?"

"Well, yes." Nancy answered, chuckling. "Though, he is too old for a babysitter, I think. We could spend time together, have a sleepover. Do girl stuff. Watch some movies. Just the two of us. No Steve."

"Sounds good to me." Barb answered, with Nancy hearing the excitement in her voice. She knew very well of Barb's doubts regarding Steve. Hanging the phone, Nancy joined the two kids, waiting for her friend's arrival, while thinking of how to explain it to her. Nancy wanted to help El, but she knew that she and Mike could not do it alone. Barb was very smart, she could help too. So can Jonathan Byers. If El's appearance somehow related to Will's disappearance, and Nancy was positive that it was no pure coincidence, then she had to tell this to Jonathan.