Chapter Text
There was so much blood. Mike looked down at the sister he thought had been dead for so long, but he couldn't see the happy, animated girl that he'd known. All he could see was the red covering her.
She had long, wavy golden-brown hair, a few freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheecks, green and gold eyes, and the same sharp cheekbones as her brother. Jade was wearing worn out clothes so dirty that Mike couldn't tell what their original color was, and she had on a pair of black converse that were falling apart. But what really struck Mike was how gaunt his sister was; she was all skin and bones. It was clear that she'd been malnourished for a while, and it made Mike angry. What could his sister have ever possibly done to deserve this life?
Jade was still wrapped in Will's arms as Jonathan and Steve tended to her injuries. It pained Mike to see his sister like this. So, as mad as he was, he grabbed Nancy's hand tight as they took in the sight of their sister being alive and here.
Jade had been pretty beaten up from the group's encounter with a Demogorgon; she had an ugly gash on her stomach and her arms were scratched raw. Once everything had calmed down a bit, Nancy told Mike what had happened in the Upside Down. After they'd saved Jade in the library, they made their way through the woods and back to the nearest gate. On the way back a Demogorgon had found them, and Jade took it on alone. She hadn't let the monster hurt a single person, but got pretty beat up as payment.
When Nancy had finished, she turned to Mike and looked him in the eye. "Mike, she doesn't remember. You can't tell her, not now. She's already had so much thrown at her, she doesn't need this right now."
"But Nancy, we can't just not tell her. She's here, right here with us, after years of us thinking she died. She deserves to know. Jade's been on her own for so long, she needs to know that she's not anymore," Mike argued.
"Mike," Nancy replied, "We will tell her. Just not now. And she's not alone. Did you see how hard everyone fought to save her? Besides, Will's had that girl locked in his arms from the second she was back on the ground. She trusts him and everyone he trusts. Jade knows she's not alone."
"Nancy, this might be our only chance to tell her," Mike whispered.
She took a deep breath before responding. They both knew this fight was far from over, and neither had any idea what would come next. "Alright. Let's tell her."
Mike gave his sister a hug of gratitude and reassurance before they made their way over to the sister they'd lost all those years ago. They weren't going to lose her again, they couldn't. But Mike wanted her to know how much she was loved, just in case.
-*-
Jade laid in the arms of her best friend as his friends took care of her, cleaning her wounds and giving her water. She was completely exhausted, and had no desire to leave Will's embrace anytime soon.
"Hey, are you alright?" Will whispered. "You're shaking."
"I'm fine, just a little shook up," she replied. It wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want to worry Will by revealing how much her encounter with One had hurt her.
Will frowned, knowing her too well to know that she was fine. But thankfully he didn't press the matter. He just gently stroked the loose hair out of her face as he hummed their song to her. She loved Will all the more for it.
Jade closed her eyes and let herself get lost in Will's melody, taking her mind off of the pain that she was in. She felt so safe with him and trusted him completely.
She must have dozed off for a while, because the next thing she knew Will was gently shaking her awake.
He smiled softly at her and said, "Hey, I know you're tired, but we need to talk."
Jade looked up into Will's hazel eyes and instantly knew something was bothering him. But before she could inquire about it Will spoke again. "I know that look. Trust me, nothing's wrong. There's just something I need to tell you." He gave Jade a concerned look before continuing. "Would you be okay if we moved somewhere more private?"
She nodded mutely, still very confused and worried. Will nodded back and began to help her up. Jade stumbled quite a few times on her broken leg from the ordeal with One, but Will was always right there to catch her. After much exertion Jade and Will made it to a small bedroom at the end of the hallway. However, they weren't the only ones in there.
Will must have felt her tense under his grip on her shoulders, because he was quick to reassure her. "It's alright, they just want to talk. Here, sit down and rest." Will eased Jade into a chair, then looked over at the other two people in the room expectantly.
They must have lost their nerve though, because the room remained silent as the two people stared at Jade, making her very uncomfortable.
Will was the one to break the silence, clearing his throat and saying, "Jade, they know you. From before the lab."
Jade's eyes widened in shock, and she immediately studied the people in front of her. One was the girl, Nancy, who had saved her from the vines earlier. The other was a boy with shoulder length black hair, brown eyes, and freckles. He looked so familiar. Suddenly her eyes locked on the necklace he was wearing at his throat: a silver star on a black chord. The same exact one she'd given to Will. The only thing she had left of her life before the lab. And this boy was wearing a matching one.
Jade pushed herself to her feet and approached the boy unsteadily. She looked him in the eye and asked, "What's your name?"
"Mike Wheeler," he answered.
At that Jade tackled Mike in a bone crushing hug. His familiarity, him knowing her, his necklace...... Mike was her twin brother. The family she was stolen from all those years ago.
She gently pulled away to look at Mike and realized he'd been crying, and so had she. Then she glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Nancy, her beloved older sister. She and Mike grabbed her into the hug in tandem. All three of them were crying. They had finally found their way back to each other.
Once the three of them had calmed down they sat on the bed and traded stories. Apparently after Jade disappeared when she was five her family had been told that there'd been a car accident on Jade's way home. Nancy had gone over her friend's house after school and Mike had been home sick, so it was just her. There was no one else to confirm or deny the story. Her family never stopped blaming themselves for not being there, and ever since none of the Wheeler children were allowed to travel alone. If they left the house there had to be someone else that they would be meeting. That's part of the reason why their house had become the designated "hang house". The Wheelers wanted to be able to keep an eye on their children, and limit the risks that came with leaving their home. Their family tried to act alright and hide the brokenness they faced; they didn't want people's pity and curiosity to constantly reopen the pain they felt. So they eventually stopped talking about Jade. Didn't tell those who hadn't known her about her life or death, didn't mention her around those who had known her. They even took down all her pictures after a while. They couldn't handle the constant reminder of never being able to see her again.
So the Wheeler life went on as if she'd never been a part of it. None of Mike's friends knew that he'd ever had a twin sister, because he didn't meet them until after the tragedy. A few of Nancy's friends had known, but they'd all forgotten about it over time. Except for Barb, she remembered. She would come over every year on the anniversary of Jade's "death" and console Nancy. But Barb was gone now too, and Nancy had no one. Sure, the adults of Hawkins knew, but none spoke about anything in respect of the Wheelers' wishes.
And then Will Byers went missing years later, on the very same day that they'd lost Jade all those years ago.
Every year when that awful day rolled around, Mike always busied himself with his friends to distract his mind from painful memories. That year the day had fallen over the weekend, so Mike had spent the entire day playing D&D with his friends. All was well until they went home.
Will was alone, just as Jade had been. Then he was ripped away from them without any warning. Mike nearly fell apart. He threw himself into finding Will, and did everything in his power to protect and take care of him after his return. He wasn't going to lose someone else, not again.
Mike and Nancy regailed her with the tales of their Upside Down adventures, but she already knew all of them.
"I always kept a close eye on Will after he made it back. I wanted to make sure that he stayed safe," Jade explained.
She turned to smile at Will, but realized that he wasn't in the room anymore. "Where's Will?"
"He probably just wanted to give us some privacy," Nancy said.
Jade frowned. "He didn't need to leave. He's the one who brought us back together after all."
"Okay, now it's your turn," Mike said, moving on after a slight pause. "What really happened ten years ago?"
Jade really wished that Will was still there. Everything was easier with him. Besides, he already knew her story, so it would have been easier to recount it with him next to her. But she didn't have Will with her, so she had to endure the pain on her own.
The day she'd disappeared there had been no car accident. She was walking home alone, and there was no one else in sight. She was quickly surrounded by vans and people in suits with no escape. They stole her away to the lab where she became nothing more than a number: Twelve. They'd somehow found out that she was an unusual child, so they kidnapped her to turn her into one of their test subjects. She grew up in the lab, but she resisted Brenner at every turn. No matter how much they hurt her, she wouldn't cooperate. So eventually they gave up on her and locked her in her cell of a room permanently, shackled by a number of restraints against her abilities. Soon it was like she never even existed there either. That's how she survived the massacre.
Everyone in the lab was told that Twelve had died during a training accident. So when Henry struck he'd passed right by her room, believing it to be empty. Once she heard the screams she'd tried to break free to save the others, but the electric shocks from her restraints prevented her. She had to suffer in her room while helplessly listening to everyone die. After that Brenner increased the security on her room even more. She couldn't even move an inch without being shocked. Her door was replaced with one made of titanium, held in place by five different heavy duty locks.
And then came the day when Eleven opened the gate. Eleven had been the only friend Jade had in the lab. So when she heard Eleven screaming, she had to do something. Jade still isn't sure how, but she managed to escape her room. She ran to the deprivation tanks and was met with the sight of the wall crumbling down the middle. Jade had distracted the guards in order for El to escape, and Jade made it out the only way she could: through the gate.
Soon after she found Will, and they took care of each other. She'd found a great friend in him. When the Demogorgon cornered them she distracted it so Will could escape, and she used her powers to hide him from the monster. But she failed. The Demogorgon nearly killed her and found Will soon after. Once Will was home again she would always check to make sure he was okay. She'd protected him from the Mind Flayer as long as she could, but eventually it got him. When it did she did everything that she could to help him fight it and remain present. When Eleven closed the gate she was right there closing it from her own side. She whispered little thoughts into all of their minds in order to help them understand what was really going on. She was always there, helping them.
But that help came at a cost. One found her, realized that she was in fact still alive. And that she was actively working against him. Over the course of the years Jade spent trapped in the Upside Down, she spent every second hiding from One's detection. It had worked, until today.
"My entire life has been one of not existing," Jade said.
Jade's siblings embraced her and Mike whispered, "Not anymore."