Chapter Text
Nancy was adrift. She found herself in a void that was remarkably similar to the one Eleven had described a few times while remote traveling to find people. Water splashed, but her feet never got wet no matter how much she walked. She blinked and looked around. She was surrounded by a darkness much deeper than one she had ever seen before. She shuddered. It was cold here, and no amount of movement brought her closer to warmth. How was she going to get out of here? Somewhere far above her, she could hear voices. She tried to head in that direction. Someone blocked her path.
“Nancy…”
“You,” she whispered, looking directly into Vecna’s face. “You brought me here, didn’t you. Why are you doing this? Can’t you just let me live?”
“I want you to join me.”
“Never,” Nancy snapped, clenching her fists. “I’ll never join you, you overgrown raisin.”
“I’m afraid you won’t have a choice, Nancy.”
His voice pierced right into her. The more she tried to shake it off, the more it sank into her. She shivered, the cold growing worse, like it was coming from Vecna rather than this void she was stuck in. There had to be a way out of here. She tried to remember the words to the Heart song that had defined much of her childhood. And then she began to sing. If no one was going to offer her a hand, she would claw her way out, blood under her nails and fire in her eyes. She felt that old determination from when she had shot Vecna out the window blooming inside her. It was small, faint, and could be snuffed out any moment, but it existed nonetheless. She grabbed and held onto it as hard as she could, which wasn’t very hard, but it was more strength than she’d had in a very long time.
Nancy woke up with a cry. She muffled it at once with her hand when she realized Robin was right at her bedside and asleep, her hand inches from the bed. She had no idea how long she’d been out for. She glanced at the calendar. May 2nd. She was supposed to be taking exams and graduating right now. Instead she was a mess of a girl in a hospital bed. Her whole life was ruined, her family’s lives ruined. Because she was too much of a disaster to function. To her surprise, her mom was there too. The bandages were off her. She was slowly healing. Her mom woke up and strode to her bedside.
“Nancy, oh my god.” Karen sighed and grabbed her hand. “You’ve been out for days.”
“What about exams? And graduation?”
“I’ve talked to the school already, you’ll be pushed back to graduating in December, but maybe in the spring–”
“Mom!” Nancy protested. “I’ve worked my entire life for this, to get into a really good school and get a really good job and be someone!”
“Yes, and it’s nearly killed you!” Karen countered. “Look at you, you’re skin and bone, you’ve got dark circles under your eyes, and any time you try to talk about what you’re carrying on your shoulders, you fall to pieces.”
“I’m sorry. Mom, I just…” Nancy trailed off, staring at the sheets.
“I spoke to Ted while you were…out,” Karen said. “I don’t think we’ve fought like that in ages. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong.”
“I didn’t think he would,” Nancy said quietly. “Don’t fight with him on my account, Mom. I know he doesn’t believe in divorce.”
“You’ve eavesdropped before.”
“It’s not eavesdropping if the whole house can hear it.”
“Okay, enough,” Karen sighed. “You are worth fighting for, even if you refuse to believe it right now.”
Nancy heard Robin mumble and looked over at her. She was waking up, sort of. It would be some time before she was truly conscious. Other than seeming to be exhausted, she wasn’t any worse for wear. That was a relief. Vecna hadn’t attacked anyone that was here while she’d been unconscious. As for outside the hospital, she had no idea. That terrified her. But Robin was okay at least. That provided a great relief.
“It seems she really cares about you,” Karen murmured. “She refused to leave last night.”
“Mom, she’s just…”
“A friend?” her mother supplied. She looked at Nancy curiously. “What do you think would happen if I discovered she wasn’t?”
“Well–”
Robin let out a long yawn and stretched, opening her eyes. Nancy smiled fondly at the sight. It had only been two days, but it felt like far longer since she’d seen her, and yet no time at all.
“Well morning, sleepyhead.”
“Morning, Nance.” Robin looked at her sleepily before realization came across her. “Nancy! You’re awake! Finally!”
“Yeah, I’m up.”
“I believe,” Karen spoke up, startling Robin, “we need to have a talk.”
“Oh sure, Mrs. Wheeler,” she said awkwardly. “What’s going on? Did the doctors say when Nancy was gonna be okay to leave?”
“In a little while, but that’s not what I want to talk about.” Karen crossed her legs and gazed at the pair. Nancy felt like she was under a microscope once again.
“What’s going on?” Robin asked, a bit more nervous now.
“I couldn’t help but notice how close the two of you have gotten,” Karen began softly. “I wasn’t sure what to make of it until the other day when Nancy made some claim about your home life to explain why you’ve spent so much time with my daughter recently.”
“I can explain,” Robin said. “Nancy, she…she needs me, like, really needs me.”
“I’d never doubt that, and I’m sure you’ve been a great help to Nancy. But there’s something more, and I don’t think it would be productive to deny it.”
“I…I…” Robin was on the verge of tears.
“Mom,” Nancy cut in. “You’re making her upset. If you’re gonna kick me out for this or something, just get it over with. Don’t leave me hanging.”
“No, no!” Karen sighed and shook her head. “Nothing like that.” She paused and looked at them again. “If you are…together…who am I to stop you?”
A massive weight left Nancy’s chest at the unexpected acceptance. She let out a shaky breath, gauging Robin’s reaction. She was crying. Nancy pulled her closer and whispered reassurances to her until she calmed down in her arms. She pressed her lips to her head and pulled away with a sigh. Whatever went on at home, there was no love in it. She could see that much. Her mother was far from perfect, but she was trying at least. She had to make it easier for her, meet her halfway at least. She met eyes with her now, and she knew that she had to tell her the truth about the last thing she had been holding onto.
“I need to tell you something…” She trailed off, trying to find the best way to say it. Robin slipped out of Nancy’s arms and wiped her tears away.
“What is it, honey?”
“That…man who attacked me the other day. He showed me the future.” This was so hard to explain. But she knew she had to do it. “He showed me those gates opening, and he showed all of you in danger. You, Mike, Holly.”
Karen’s eyes were wide as she listened, but she didn’t interrupt. Nancy relaxed when she felt Robin take her hand.
“It’s why I had to try even harder to hide all this,” she explained. “I couldn’t let you all get hurt…or…killed. Because of me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“Oh Nancy,” Karen sighed. “I was already attacked, and nearly died. They had to treat me for some infection, put heat on me until it was gone. That was what they said, anyway. I’m sure there was more to it, but I wasn’t about to ask questions. Not when I was already so addled.”
“Right,” Nancy murmured, feeling silly now. “I’m sorry, Mom. Sorry I’ve been so difficult, so stubborn.”
“Those Wheeler genes,” Karen mused softly, then she became serious again. “No, Nance, I should be sorry, that you felt like you couldn’t trust me with anything. It’s clear that’s something that goes way back. For now, let’s work on getting you out of here. You could probably be discharged at any time, since you’re an adult, but I’d like to see you eat something first.”
“Okay,” Nancy sighed.
“I can help,” Robin spoke up. “Where are those nutritional charts at…?" She wandered off. Nancy slumped back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling.
“You’re happy together, then?”
“Yes, Mom,” Nancy said shyly, a blush already coming into her cheeks.
“Good, then that is all I ask for.” Karen smiled. “That and you attempt to eat a meal. Alright?”
Nancy didn’t want to fight anymore. It just made things harder and made her more tired, but she didn’t know how to further explain how much she shouldn’t and did not deserve to take care of herself beyond the bare minimum. She felt like she was in an impossible position, but what was she supposed to say? So when a tray of food was presented to her she nibbled quietly at the honeydew and cantaloupe and said nothing about how it made her feel. Her mother wasn’t satisfied unless she had a few bites of everything, and she did her best to oblige. At least it got her out of the hospital.
“Of all the things to happen, I was not expecting your mom to find out about us,” Robin said as they made the drive back to the Wheeler household. “But I’m not mad about it. Honestly, it might make things a little easier.”
“Yeah,” Nancy agreed softly. “It’s…it’s good to have everything out in the open.” It had been incredibly messy, but she did feel a little better.
The house was almost totally fixed up by now, and Nancy could only tell anything that had happened because Ted had used a different material for the massive hole, and her mother’s healing injuries. Nancy made her way inside.
“Robin, what happened to Murray and Owens? After I collapsed.”
“Well,” Robin began awkwardly. “Owens was the one who got you to the hospital, and Murray stayed behind to keep Vecna busy for a minute.”
“Is he okay?”
“No, no Nancy, he…Vecna killed him.”
More blood on your hands, Nancy. When will it end?
“Jeez.” She tried to ignore the voice that had made a predictable return.
“He went back into the Upside Down and El went after him, but nobody’s seen her since. We’re gonna send a search party after her today.”
“I wanna join,” Nancy said.
“Nancy…” Robin hesitated. “Everyone thinks it’s best if you just get some rest.”
“He’s still targeting me, this won’t end until we kill him,” she pointed out. “How can I just sit around while he’s making me lose like half the blood in my body?” Before Robin could answer, Nancy spoke again. “Listen, if anything goes wrong I’ll bail, but for now I wanna be involved as much as I can.”
“Nancy,” Robin sighed. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“I agree,” Karen said as she turned off the engine. “However, you try getting my daughter to not be stubborn, then we can talk.”
“Fair point, Mrs. Wheeler.”
“I’m right here,” Nancy grumbled as she got out of the car.
In the house, she spotted her father, and she could hardly meet eyes with him. Holly avoided her completely. Mike was the only one willing to drift closer and actually talk to her like she existed. Like everything was normal.
“Glad you’re home,” Mike said. “Did you hear about the search for El?”
“Yeah, I want in. Who is going and when?”
“Hop, Steve, Jonathan, Mrs. Byers, I think they had room for one more if you wanna meet with them at the library.”
Nancy strode up to her room to check her guns, her ammo, and the gear she had worn to take down Vecna before. She was part way through getting ready when her mother came into the room. She looked up and yanked the vest on, now fully dressed. She watched her for a moment, wondering if she’d try one last time to stop her, but instead, she handed over a pack of batteries.
“I know that I can’t stop you,” Karen said. “Ever since you were quite young, you’ve been very set in your convictions. Your drive, your will to fight, they’re all things I am proud of, Nancy. I just wish it didn’t put you into such danger. And I wish it hadn’t driven you to hurting yourself like this.”
“Mom…” Nancy trailed off, a million thoughts and conflicting emotions coming to the surface. She settled for saying just one thing. “I love you.” I’m sorry I don’t say it enough.
“I love you,” Karen whispered as she hugged her. “So much, Nancy. Now go find her. And bring him down. I’ll keep Mike and Holly safe.”
“Holly.” Nancy wrenched away and ran to her little sister’s room. “Holly?”
“What?” Holly stepped away from the wall in her room.
Nancy narrowed her eyes. She heard her mother come in behind her.
“Who were you talking to?”
“A friend,” Holly said. “Mind your business, Nancy.”
“Holly!” Karen admonished. She gazed at the wall, as if she was remembering something.
“What are you thinking, Mom?” Nancy asked.
“When Will was missing, we visited Joyce one day,” Karen said softly. “Joyce found her wandering into one of the rooms, and Holly said she saw something…I thought it was just a toddler’s imagination, but now, obviously, I’m not so sure.”
“It’s gotta be Vecna, he wants her for something.” Again, she thought of her vision. “I knew Holly had been acting kind of reclusive, but…I’ve been too self absorbed to do anything about it.”
“Not everything is your responsibility, Nancy.”
“Then why did Dad…always make it feel that way?”
“I don’t know,” Karen sighed. “I don’t understand, because it wasn’t like I was hurting without your help, as much as I appreciated it.”
Nancy looked to Holly again, who seemed to be in her own world and tuning out the both of them. The guilt got worse despite everything her mother was telling her. She backed up towards the door, unable to handle being in the room any more. She retreated to her room once again and finished gearing herself up. Time to go.
“You stay in touch, okay?” Karen said as she met her at the front door, where Robin was waiting.
“Channel ten,” Robin reminded her. “We’ll all be on it.”
“Yes,” Nancy said. “I will. I thought there was no more room in the search party, Robin?”
“They’ll have to make room. We are a package deal, Nance.”
“Well when you put it like that …” Nancy twirled her flashlight. “We’re wasting time just standing here talking about it, aren’t we?”
She threw the door open to leave and found Will standing there.
“He’s in the basement,” Nancy deadpanned, watching as Will eagerly ran into the house.
Finally, they were on their way to the library. Nancy took out her gun and fired it at any creatures that came at her or Robin, but she saved most of her ammo, not shooting to kill and simply sounding off warning shots. It seemed to work, thankfully. But the closer they got to the gate, the more monsters they saw, and the harder it was getting to save her precious bullets. Nancy knew that it was by design. They wanted to make sure she was left defenseless by the time she made it inside and located El. She wondered if they’d stay as a group, safety in numbers but they can’t spread out and look. Or if they’d split up, the goal to extract her and escape, but then they’d be more vulnerable. There were no easy answers.
“You too?” Hopper sighed when he spotted Robin with Nancy. “Should’ve known, you two are attached at the hip.”
“I’m sorry about Murray,” Nancy said, breezing past his comment. She didn’t have time for it. “He…really helped me when I needed it.”
“No time to mourn at the moment,” Hopper said gruffly. “Besides, he and I weren’t exactly…never mind it’s not important right now.”
“Where are Steve and Jonathan?” Robin asked.
“Almost here,” Joyce spoke up as she looked at the walkie. “Steve? Jonathan? Where are you guys?”
“Sorry, we ran into a bit of a problem!” Jonathan’s voice came in a bit disjointed. “We’ve got it under control, though.”
“Jonathan’s hurt,” Steve said. “I managed to get him patched up, he should be alright.”
A thought suddenly struck Nancy. “Steve…have you seen Eddie?”
“Not since we dropped off the last shipment of supplies a few days ago, why?”
“We might be able to use him to draw these creatures away.” Nancy’s mind worked quickly. “Listen, if he’s become some kind vampire thing or something, then maybe he’s like them, and he could have some kind of influence over them. Hive mind.”
“That’s actually kind of genius,” Steve murmured. “Okay. We’ll do a quick detour. Don’t go in till we show up, okay?”
“So, you’ve been hiding Eddie?” Hopper said.
“Can we not get into this right now?” Nancy sighed. “I’m saving our asses with this idea. I didn’t like the idea of us going as a group and not being able to spread out to search, or if we split up, being picked off one by one till everyone is dead.”
“Well it’s a good idea.” Joyce smiled a little.
“So…what do we do now?” Robin frowned, shifting.
“We wait,” Hopper said simply.
Nancy sat at one of the tables, but she was by no means relaxed. Her eyes did a sweep every minute or so, leg bouncing under the table. Robin remained with Hopper, speaking to him in a voice low enough that she couldn’t catch any of it. She looked up when Joyce sat across from her. It was then she realized they hadn’t had a proper talk. Sure, she’d spilled her guts to the woman, but Joyce hadn’t actually said anything. She had just let her explode.
“How are you feeling, Nancy?”
“Okay I guess. I just got out of the hospital.”
Joyce took her hand. It was warm, so warm, unless she was just freezing, which was more likely. She shivered.
“I heard about that,” she said softly. “Karen had called me and told me everything that happened leading up to you collapsing in the street.”
“O-Oh.” She stared back at Joyce nervously.
“I’m just worried is all.” Joyce frowned. “You were in a bad enough place at the cabin. And now you’re…spiraling, for lack of a better word.”
Nancy bit her lip. She knew Joyce wasn’t going to judge her. She hadn’t so far. But she felt the need to try to hide anyway. When she tried to pull away, Joyce gently pulled her back to the chair, looking at her with kind and steady eyes. She knew she’d confess just about anything to this woman. That scared her, but Robin was not too far away, and Robin made her feel brave, like she could be that girl who held a gun without a hint of fear in her system again. Maybe that girl was still in there.
“I…guess so,” she said carefully. She knew that what Joyce was saying was true, but she didn’t want to say it aloud. The actual words felt forbidden.
“Your mother told me about how you’ve almost totally stopped eating,” Joyce murmured. “You always look exhausted, and not to mention the self harm that was severe enough to send you to the hospital.”
“Joyce,” Nancy whispered. She stared at the table, at the hand the woman was still holding. The mother of her brother’s best friend…well, boyfriend, now.
The rest of the words she wanted to say remained tangled inside her, and she had no idea if she could undo those knots. If she should. She sucked in a breath, decided to try. Everything was stuck deep inside her. She tugged, tugged, tugged, and examined every piece to see if there was a way around this block she had. All the while, Joyce patiently waited. She shut her eyes and focused once again.
“I don’t deserve this,” she said finally, opening her eyes to see not agreement, but further concern and a sadness in Joyce’s eyes. “I’m too…difficult and complicated. I don’t know how everyone isn’t tired of trying by now when I haven’t made it easy in the slightest for anyone.”
“You deserve help even if you’re actively fighting against it,” Joyce said, leaning closer. “You deserve help even if you are dragged into it kicking and screaming, Nancy. I know you. I know you. I watched how the horrors of this town have changed you from this bright eyed, innocent teenager attached at the hip of her best friend into a child soldier carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.”
“Child soldier?” Nancy was baffled. What did she mean by that? It’s not like a war–
“That’s exactly what you are,” Joyce confirmed. “You might not be able to see it, but I do.”
Tears welled up. She couldn’t hold them back. She shut her eyes, but Joyce wrapped her in a gentle hug. She didn’t think it was possible to cry even more after the last several days, but it seemed like it never ended. It was a little embarrassing that she was just a waterworks factory these days, but at least she was safe, here, with Joyce, with her mother, with Robin. Safe from judgment. She pulled away when the library doors burst open.
“Hey!” Steve called out breathlessly. “Hey we made it!”
“Thank god.” Joyce spent several minutes fussing over Jonathan.
Nancy met eyes with Eddie as he strolled in last. It felt like it had been ages since they’d last seen one another. It felt like so much had changed, and yet, nothing had changed at all. It was an odd feeling to have. She wanted to say something to him, but it wasn’t like they were terribly close. It seemed like he and Steve had formed a bond during the time they had spent together. She decided to let it go.
“How you been, Nancy?” Eddie asked, startling her. When had he approached?
“Surviving, same as just about everyone here.” Nancy shrugged. “What are we waiting for, then? We should get started before something serious happens to El in there.”
“Going in!” Eddie called out. “I’ll give you a signal when they’re good and distracted.”
Once again, they were waiting. Nancy was tired of it. She was antsy now. She was on her feet without having remembered getting up. She paced around the library, feeling restless and charged with nowhere for her energy to go. If they could put an end to this, so too her torment would come to an end. The headaches, the nosebleeds, the nightmares, the visions, the voice , all of it would stop. But what about the rest? She couldn’t attribute all of her problems to Vecna, even though she could agree he was making it harder for her. She couldn’t think about that right now. It was too much. It was better to focus on what she could feasibly accomplish right now: rescuing El and stopping Vecna. As for the rest, she’d get there. Probably.
“We’re a go.” Eddie’s voice startled Nancy.
“I’ll take the front,” Hopper said gruffly.
“I’ll stay here with Jonathan, he’s too injured for this,” Joyce said. She glared at him when he tried to protest. The eldest Byer child fell quiet.
“I’m right behind you,” Nancy spoke up firmly.
“I’ll take up the rear!” Steve spoke up.
Robin took Nancy’s hand. She didn’t need words for Nancy to know what she meant. Together or not at all. She nodded.
“Robin will be with me,” Nancy said. “Let’s go.”
“Got that right.”
Hopper was the first one down. Once he’d made it, he helped everyone to the ground. Everyone was still in one piece. Of course, this was the easy part: getting in. Everything else, well, Nancy wouldn’t be surprised if Vecna prevented one or more of them from just leaving. Once it was Nancy’s turn, it took all of her concentration not to get distracted by the headache that was only getting worse the deeper she got into the gate. When she was on her feet again, she felt like it had ballooned into a full on migraine, and she had to shut her eyes for a moment.
“You alright?” Robin asked as she approached her.
“He knows we are…here,” Nancy murmured. “We don’t have the element of surprise.”
“We make this quick then,” Hopper said. “Behind me girls. You do exactly as I say when I say it. Wheeler, are you okay?”
“It…It’ll pass.” Nancy wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince. “Any ideas where El is?”
“Actually, you might be the person to do that. The whole…locator thing El can do. I bet you have that power too.”
“Fine, give me something to make a blindfold out of,” Nancy said. “Time is of the essence here and the longer she’s stuck here, the less likely it is we will be able to get her out.”
Once a cloth was over her eyes, it was time to focus her energy on finding El. She had only seen the girl in action like this once before, but she had been able to find Mike randomly on her own. She just had to do the same thing as before. She opened her eyes and was in the black void again. She didn’t know how El handled it. This empty space between spaces was straight up unsettling. Did it really bother no one else that El spent a whole lot of time in a place that probably frightened her? Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to think about that. She had a job to do. She wandered the black space and tried to think of where Vecna would take El. There was only one place that popped up in her mind that made any amount of sense.
The lab.
She made her way in that direction, and sure enough, she found signs of a struggle inside. She was about to enter when an invisible force pushed her back from the doors. Vecna emerged from the shadows and looked right at her. She looked around him and spotted an unconscious Eleven.
She ripped off the blindfold, breathing heavily. She wiped blood from her nose. She wondered how much she could afford to lose today.
“Are you okay?” Robin asked. “What happened?”
“He…he has her,” Nancy said. “T-the lab.”
“The lab, let’s go,” Hopper announced. “Everyone behind me.”
Just as they started making their way, Nancy heard a familiar screeching noise that indicated a demobat was coming towards them. And not just one, but a whole army of them. She pulled her gun out first and began shooting at whatever appeared to have wings. One after the other after the other. She didn’t stop until she and Hopper were both examining all the bodies, there had to have been over a dozen.
“Nice work,” Hopper remarked. “I hardly had to do anything.”
“Shit, Nancy,” Steve said, twirling his bat. “Save some for the rest of us, will you?”
For awhile, things remained uneventful. Of course, there was the occasional ambush, but it was nothing to the degree that Nancy assumed they would run into, which told her that Vecna was mostly occupied with other matters and rescue attempts were not a concern to him. At least it gave them the upper hand, but she had no idea what they were about to walk into in this version of Hawkins Lab. Or if they’d walk out of it. It was too late to turn back now, not that Nancy would ever want to. As much pain as she was carrying around in her chest, it was miles better than being that long haired ignorant girl giggling in the halls and only concerned about the surface level things that ended up never mattering. Now here she was, gun in hand, at the front lines of an inter-dimensional fight that she hoped would soon end. And oh how she hoped. She didn’t think she could tolerate another episode caused by Vecna. As they approached the lab doors, Nancy made sure her gun was loaded. She jumped when she heard a voice.
“Careful guys!” Eddie called out as he approached the group. “Did my distraction work?”
“Not really,” Steve said. “But we know where El is. She’s in here, somewhere.”
He looked Eddie up and down. Nancy followed his gaze to see that Eddie was a mess of blood, indicating that he had just been on a hunt that he hadn’t had time to clean up from. As she was looking away, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Steve’s gaze lingering on this.
“Nance.” Robin grabbing her hand wrenched her back to reality. They didn’t have time to think about anything but what was beyond the threshold.
Right. Focus.
Once inside, Nancy had to think about where in the lab Vecna could have taken El. From her last time here, she knew this place was in substantial size, and she had only been in a small portion of said building. The part she had seen, though, had a significant detail that would be impossible to miss. A rainbow. There was no sign of the hospital-like setting she had seen in her prior visit, so it had to be another part of the lab. Maybe down below, where most people wouldn’t look.
“Where are you going?” Hopper called. “I said stay behind me!”
“I know where she is!” Nancy responded firmly.
With that, she charged on ahead even further, searching for that room with a rainbow in it. Down, down, down the stairs. Nothing else existed besides her goal, and she didn’t stop until she came across Vecna in a hallway. She ducked into a closet and listened to the sounds of him and El fighting. It seemed she was back on her feet and ready for another round with him. She shut her eyes and silently counted to three before throwing herself into the hallway and firing her gun without thinking about it, aiming right at the monster who had been tormenting her for weeks.
“El! Go! I’ll hold him off!”
“I am not leaving you, Nancy!”
She launched him through a wall so hard he went through it then took off at a run, grabbing Nancy’s hand as she did so. Together, then. She was certain he would come for them as the distance between them grew. But she didn’t even hear him. Perhaps he had been thrown further than she’d thought. Still, the coiled tension in her chest refused to release, not even when she rejoined Hopper and the others. She watched as Hopper hugged El tight, kissing her hair that was slowly growing back. She was reminded of her mother, and how she was trying her best these days. She should really stop making it so hard for everyone around her.
Why didn’t she believe they were truly looking out for her? Maybe because, on the whole, they were making it hard to believe. When she was Solider Nancy, she didn’t have feelings. She didn’t get hurt. She wasn’t afraid of anything. It seemed like when she turned into Nancy Wheeler again, that perception didn’t change. At least, that was how she saw things. She let out a breath, then broke down into a coughing fit.
“Alright, we should get out of here,” Robin said firmly, wrapping an arm around Nancy. “We’ve been in here for way too long.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Eddie sighed. “I might be used to this place, but that doesn’t mean that I like it.”
And so began the journey home. But Robin kept Nancy at the back of the group, rather than at the front of it.
“What?” Nancy looked at her.
Robin kissed her.
“Hang on just a little longer,” she whispered. “I’ll carry you on my back if I have to.”
“What are you talking about? I feel fine.”
“You don’t look fine. You’re pale and swaying.”
“Robin,” Nancy said softly, but just then spots appeared in her vision. Before she could pass out, Robin picked her up and carried her on piggyback.
“I’ve got you,” Robin assured her. “Just relax. I’ll bring you home.”
“Robin,” she said again.
“I mean it, nothing is gonna stop me.”
“I know…” Nancy laid her head on Robin’s back, comforted. “Thank you.” She tried to fight the urge to fall asleep right there, but her eyes felt heavy, and she couldn’t resist for very long. The last thing she remembered was Robin’s voice, but she couldn’t understand the words.