"Nancy! Nancy! Someone do something!"
Robin ran though Eddie's trailer and into his living room, where Dustin and Eddie had already spilled music taps all over the bed. Her mind was on fire, she could feel One, he could feel how strongly he held Nancy's mind in his own.
They had just escaped the Upside Down. Things should've been better. Nancy wasn't supposed to be under this curse, especially not when things started to look up. But she was. And they needed to wake her up.
"What's her favorite song?" Dustin screamed, and Jonathan yelled back from the Upside Down, his voice frantic.
"I don't know, she doesn't listen to much music!"
Robin didn't know how it all went so wrong. One moment they were on their way to their world, after Dustin's genius thought that there would be a gate at Eddie's trailer, and the next everyone but Nancy and Jonathan were safe, and Nancy was taken by One. Jonathan was the first to notice, but now Robin couldn't get Nancy's emotionless expression out of her mind, her white eyes, her stiff body.
This was bad. This was really bad.
If there was ever a moment when Robin had to save someone, this was it. Nancy didn't have music. Nancy couldn't break out herself. So, it was up to Robin.
"Keep on looking, I'm going into her mind!" Robin exclaimed. Eddie gave her a confused look, but Dustin nodded along desperately.
"Yes, yes yes, go!"
Robin ran back into the living room, where there was more space, and sat down, closing her eyes and trying to block out the noises around her.
"Where's Steve?" She heard Jonathan exclaim, "He might know her favorite song!"
She opened her eyes, her breathing even faster than before. Where was Steve? Shouldn't he be here?
"Steve's not here!" Erica said loudly, "We have to do this without him!"
"Where is he?" Robin asked desperately, tears burning the back of her eyes, "Where is he?"
"We'll tell you later, but right now we have to save Nancy!" Mike said, and Robin knew that he was right. They had to focus on the problem at hand. Then she could worry about Steve.
But blocking out her worries was harder than she wanted to admit. Was Steve okay? Was he with the police? Was he in hiding? Was he hurt and she wasn't there to help him?
"Robin!"
She shook her head, trying to push the worried thoughts from her mind, and closed her eyes, hoping that Steve was okay, hoping that she would be able to save Nancy, hoping that things would be better this time.
She forced herself to breathe. In…and out. Somehow, nearly instantly, the words shouted around her softened, and her mind became clear. She didn't know why it was so easy this time, Robin hoped that she was getting better, but she knew that she shouldn't question it now.
It didn't take long for her to find Nancy's mind, One's mind already integrated within it, just like all of the other victims. Yet, this time, the victim, Nancy, wasn't in pain. She was scared, terrified, even, but she wasn't hurt.
Not yet, at least. Robin wasn't willing to wait around and see.
She forced her mind into the mix, and opened her eyes to see a long, white hallway, much like the hallways at the lab that Robin was stuck in. Blood covered the walls, and the doors behind her were closed shut with wooden planks, like it was hastily put up. Bodies of children wearing medical gowns covered the ground, and Robin chose to ignore them, ignoring the sickness and nausea that built in her stomach. The lights flickered above her, and she could hear Nancy's fearful screams ahead of her.
She didn't waste a second running towards the noise, her sneakers slamming against the floor, causing her footsteps to echo. Black vines appeared out of nowhere as she ran, jumping out of the tiles and at her feet, but Robin managed to dodge away from them, throwing the closer ones away without even touching them.
She heard Nancy's struggle before she saw her, but Robin knew instantly which door Nancy was behind. The one ahead of her. It had to be.
Using as much strength as she could muster, she slammed her palms forward, stumbling as the door gave way under her hands, falling to the ground with a metallic clang.
Nancy was stuck in a medical chair, her arms and legs restrained by black vines, and One stood above her, speaking in low tones. He turned his eyes to Robin as she entered, and gave her a smile that made her shiver.
"You're not welcome here, Twenty. But, your efforts always…amuse me."
"Robin, get out of here!" Nancy exclaimed, fighting her bonds with tears in her eyes, but Robin shook her head. She knew how scared Nancy was. And she wasn't going to abandon her.
"What's your favorite song?" Robin asked desperately, and One snarled, raising his hand towards Robin, sending vines from the ground her way. They rushed at her with alarming speeds, and Robin screamed, trying to hop out of the way. She managed to jump around two of them, but the last one twirled around her ankle, bringing her to the ground.
She fell to the floor with a huff, struggling to take in a breath, and that moment was all it took for One to pick her up in his vines, the tendons of his hive mine wrapping around her body, squeezing until Robin couldn't move.
Nancy met her eyes, fear radiating off of her in waves, and Robin tried to not let her own fear show.
"Get out of here!" Nancy yelled again, tears now falling down her face, but Robin shook her head, willing herself to be stronger so that she could escape.
"Not without you!"
One seemed to smile under all of the tendons that he called a face, and gestured to the two of them, both of them trapped under his control.
"How...juvenile." One said, studying Robin with hooded eyes, and all Robin felt was disgust. "You have so much to learn, sister. You know nothing of this world, or of the powers that you hold. We could've saved the world, you and I, together"
"Well, I have to say, jerk, that I don't really want to be taking lessons from you! You don't seem to be doing too well yourself. Like, seriously, where is your nose?"
A vine tightened itself around Robin's throat, and she stopped talking, shivers trailing up her spine. One seemed pleased by that.
"Now," One continued, turning back to Nancy. He kneeled down to her level, his face getting close to Nancy's, and Robin fought harder. Nancy couldn't tear her eyes away from One, One focused on Nancy, so Robin fought for her escape.
"I want you to deliver a message…for Eleven. I want you to tell her everything you see." One said slowly.
Robin began pulling at the vines, yanking them with all of her might, hoping that one would give way. None of them were.
One put his clawed hand closer to Nancy, and Nancy couldn't pull away. Robin couldn't save her.
She knew what was going to happen next. Snapping bones. Vacant eyes sucked into skulls. The cracking of a jaw.
"Nancy! No, no, get away from her!"
But her words fell onto deaf ears. No one seemed to hear her, not even herself.
This time there were no breaking bones, only flashes of light and darkness and images right in front of her.
A clock chimed in the distance, and all Robin could see was flashes of red gates splitting Hawkins open, cracking buildings, separating land, vines crawling up from the Upside Down and into their home. Monsters flooding their streets, with hundreds of teeth, clawing at homes, windows, doors, anything they could reach.
She felt fear and horror and grief and pain and sorrow coursing through her bones, making her scream. She knew nothing more than what was in front of her.
Death. Destruction. Anguish. Fear.
"No! No!"
Robin didn't know who screamed. She knew that it could've been her.
And, though it all, One's voice cut through the chaos, one last time.
"Tell her everything."
Robin jolted awake, back in Eddie's trailer, breathing heavily. Max was kneeling beside her, concern coming off of her in waves. Robin didn't have the strength to read Max's mind, to see what happened, to see if Nancy was okay ,no matter how badly she wanted to. She was just too tired.
That fight, that struggle, that…vision…One gave them, it was all too much. Everything hurt, and it was hard to even take a breath. She was amazed that she was even feeling anyone else's emotions at this point. But she wasn't about to try and read any minds. If she did, she was sure that she would feint.
"Are you okay?" Max said, interrupting Robin's thoughts, and Robin nodded, wiping away a trickle of blood that fell from her nose, and got up.
"Nancy, Nancy, is she okay?"
"She's okay!" Jonathan exclaimed from above them, and Robin walked over to the gate, relieved to see Nancy awake and alive, shaking in Jonathan's arms.
"What happened?" Dustin asked, looking from Nancy to Robin with confusion. "Did you save her?"
"I…I don't know. I don't know. It's all too much."
And Robin could already feel the headache forming in her mind, the images that she saw playing over and over again on an endless loop, suffocating her. But she forced herself to endure it, she's been overwhelmed by thoughts before, one more time wouldn't kill her.
Nancy wasn't doing much better. Robin could feel her fear, her panic, and the guilt and worry that Nancy had begun experiencing, fatigue mixing with it all.
Eddie patted Robin on the back as he went under the gate, helping Jonathan drop Nancy down safely. It took some effort, but eventually Nancy was laying down on one of the dirty couches, breathing heavily, her eyes wide with shock. Jonathan didn't waste a second going to her side and holding her hand, kissing her forehead lovingly.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly, and Nancy gave a hesitant nod, but Robin knew better. She was terrified. And Robin was too.
Robin made her way over to her, and Nancy's panicked eyes met hers.
"You shouldn't…you shouldn't have stayed. He could've killed you." Nancy said weakly, but Robin shook her head.
"I thought that we established that we were friends? I would be a jerk if I let a friend get hurt. The biggest."
Nancy managed a small smile, and then tried to get up from the couch, but Jonathan stopped her.
"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing."
"We have to compare notes." Nancy muttered, "We have to keep going."
"That's not a good idea, Nancy. You need to rest. Especially after what you just went through."
"I…I don't think I can sleep after what I just saw."
Mike soon appeared closer to them, putting a blanket over Nancy.
"Just try? You look really pale. We'll manage here without you. And I don't want to be hauling you around later because you're too tired to walk."
Nancy only managed a glance at her brother before laying back down, shivering. Jonathan sat beside her, whispering soft reassurances to her, and Robin let herself breath.
Eddie turned to Robin, a curious look in his eyes. "Do you need to sleep, too? Or are you immune to being tired like Harrington?"
Harrington. Steve. How could she have forgotten?
"Steve. Where's Steve?" Robin asked desperately, turning to the kids. All of them but Dustin avoided her gaze. "Dustin?"
"I…"
"Dustin! I'm way too tired to read your mind so just tell me! Dustin!"
She could feel tears burning behind her eyes, but she powered through it. She had to know where he was. She had to know that he was okay.
"Where is he? Is he with Joyce? Tell me he's with Joyce!"
"Robin…he's not. Brenner has him."
"What? Brenner? He's back with Brenner?"
"Yeah. The police took him back to him."
Robin felt like the floor had fallen out beneath her, and her knees buckled. Strong arms caught her before she fell to the ground, holding her up. She began sobbing, tears streaming down her face as she gasped for breath, panic seizing her throat in a death grip.
No. No. Steve couldn't be back with him. He couldn't be.
He could die. He could die and Robin wouldn't be able to save him.
She could picture him in her mind now, his head clean shaven, wearing a medical gown, losing hope and losing bits of himself day by day.
He would be able to survive it a second time, right? He had to.
"Robin, he'll be okay." Eddie said, but his voice was muffled in her ears. Robin shook her head, refusing to believe any hope that anyone tried to give her. There was no hope. Steve was gone, back in the arms of their kidnapper, their torturer, and she didn't know if he would be able to make it out this time.
"We have to get him back." She said weakly, her voice cracking with emotion, "We have to get him back!"
"Robin…he doesn't want us to." Dusitn said, kneeling down beside her. "He wanted us to keep on going without him. After we deal with One, then we'll find him. I promise."
Robin wanted to scream. She wanted to yell and punch something and throw anything that was close to her. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair at all.
Steve deserved more than that. He deserved to be free. Hadn't he already suffered enough? Shouldn't they help him escape, so he could be free once again? Wasn't it her responsibility as his best friend to be there no matter what?
But, deep down, she knew that Steve and Dustin were right. They had to keep on going without him. And her heart mourned for him, for the fact that he had to survive alone when he shouldn't have to, for all of the happiness that she knew Steve wouldn't experience for a long time to come, and for the possibility that she may never see him again.
Eddie continued to sooth her, and Robin didn't say another word. All that filled her was emptiness and pain and rage.
She would get Steve back. And she would make Brenner pay.