97- You'll Remember Me
Summary: Vecna talks to El through dreams before the events of Season 4.
Requested by: megumifushiguro09
El shielded her eyes away from the burning California sun. That was one thing she hadn't gotten used to.
That and the whole schooling aspect.
But luckily, it was a weekend. Before she'd gone to real school, she'd always heard Hopper or one of the Party members relish in the thought of the weekend. At the time, she liked the weekends because she got to see her friends. But now, she knew the feeling of relief of not having school for two days.
She raced up the front lawn to the door, excited for what the weekend was to bring. Will was at an art club, Johnathan was with his new friend Argyle, and Joyce was at work, so El got the house to herself for a few hours.
And what was she going to do?
Watch TV of course.
She would've written a letter to Mike or Max, but she'd just sent one to each of them yesterday. And without any new hobbies, that was the only option. So El settled into the couch, blanket wrapped around her feet, and watched a re-run of her favorite soap operas. Apparently, the week had caught up with her, because she let out a huge yawn. She wanted to make it to her favorite part of the show but her eyes felt heavy.
And soon, they got heavier.
And heavier.
And he
av i
e r ...
It was dark.
It reminded her of the void.
But she wasn't in the void. Was she? Glancing around, she could conduct that yeah, she was in a version of the void. But not her void. And she certainly didn't go willingly. And even if she wanted to go, she didn't have her powers.
A chill went down El's spine and she got a feeling that she should be ready to fight. Rolling her shoulders she looked around, ready to attack whatever might come her way.
"Hello."
Whirling around, El saw nothing except darkness. Nothing more, just darkness, darkness, and guess what? More darkness. "Who are you? What do you want?" El cried out.
"You know me."
El furrowed her eyebrows, nothing from the Upside-Down talked. It all just screeched and squished. And Brenner was dead. Besides, it didn't sound like him. It didn't sound like anyone she'd ever met before. "I don't think so."
The mysterious voice chuckled. "Oh, but I know so. I know you Eleven, I know all about you." El inhaled harshly. No one ever called her Eleven anymore. It was either Jane or El at this point.
"How?" she was starting to shout and had picked up her pace, looking around for anything at all.
"You'll know soon enough."
The dark floor was suddenly ripped out from underneath her. A scream ripped through her throat as she fell. It felt like she would never stop, that she'd be falling forever, never reaching the bottom. Just falling forever.
That is, until she woke up.
El gasped, jumping up from the couch.
She checked her surroundings, she was at the house. She was safe. It was okay. She was safe.
But was everyone else?
As if answering her question, her two brothers burst through the front door. "El! We're home! How was school?" Johnathan shouted throughout the house. El ran to the entry way, smiling in relief when she saw the two of them. "It- it was good."
Will scrunched his eyebrows. "Are you okay."
Should she tell them? But they'd already been through so much, and this was probably nothing, just a stupid dream. She didn't want to worry them. So, she settled on a half truth. "I was napping."
"Ah, did we wake you?" Johnathan asked. El shook her head. "Just surprised me, is all."
Will held up a pizza. "We brought pizza."
El smiled as they sauntered to the kitchen. They played a game, while talking about their days. It reminded El of the good old days, she missed those.
"I know all about you."
Did that mean her connections too? Her relationships, the people she cared about?
El really hoped it was just a random dream.
"Hello again, Eleven."
El came to the conclusion that she hated when the voice said her real name. It sent a chill through her body and shivers up her spine. She was back in the fake void. She hadn't liked the actual void in the first place, but now? El would take the real one over the fake one any day.
"Who are you?"
"You keep asking that question. I'm hurt that you don't remember."
El closed her eyes, hoping that it would all go away. And it did. When she opened her eyes, she was in Hawkins. It was the hill behind her cabin. Except it wasn't. There was a gray cloud hanging overheard, with red lightning shooting out of it. That didn't normally happen did it? And when she looked down, the land was dead. Turning into ashes and everything was brittle.
"Don't worry, Eleven, you will remember me." the voice was back.
"Get out of my head!" she shouted upward. "You don't want to fight me. You'll lose."
The voice chuckled. "Oh, but Eleven. You've already lost."
Then she was falling again.
Forever.
El woke up similar to the first time. She jumped out of her bed, breathing heavily.
Something was coming.
Something bad, something powerful, something...
Something she might not be able to stop.
And Hawkins was going to...
Wait, what was the vision the voice had given her?
She couldn't remember. And when she did, her mind was blank.
But it was bad.
She'd have to be ready.
El would protect her friends. No matter what.
She just had to remember the voice.
You'll remember me.
AN: Hope you like it, megumifushiguro09!