(Ep. 9: The Piggyback)

With a loud gasp, Steve takes a deep breath as the vines loosen themselves, releasing him, Robin, and Nancy. His head spins uncontrollably as his vision becomes blurry, but through it all, he glances up the stairs in hopes of seeing Gwen coming back to them.

He waits and waits, but she never does.

Thinking the worst had happened, Steve starts sprinting up the stairs with sheer terror and trepidation. He's beyond terrified as to what he might see. That he would find her unconscious, that she could be hurt, or worse, that she could be dead.

No. He's not going to think like that. He's not going to think the worst. He has to remain hopeful, to trust that whatever higher power is out there wouldn't be this cruel to take away his world. After everything they went through, Gwen being alive and safe and sound is the least the Gods could allow.

"Gwen!" he calls out, but receives no answer.

His heart starts pounding against his chest, his mind plagues him with the worst possible images, and everything in his body is filling with tension. He jumps over the last couple of vines moving away and finally, he sees her.

She's taking deep breaths and clutching onto her chest like it's her lifeline. Her eyes still have that sparkle he most heartedly adores and her face is still displaying that rosy tint that matches the color of her lips.

She's alright. She's safe. She's alive.

"Are you okay?" Steve cradles her face, breaking off her disassociated gaze and bringing her lively eyes onto his. She softly smiles when seeing him and leans forward for an embrace. He holds her tightly against him, not wanting to lose sight of her as based on what happened, they were saved by whatever divine intervention is out there and they don't intend on wasting it.

"You're okay. You're alright," she mumbles, her gaze soft and filled with love.

"Are you guys ready?" Nancy asks the pair as she holds tighter onto her shotgun.

Steve nods and helps Gwen up. They exchange knowing glances with the rest of the group before he says, "Phase four."

"Flambé," Robin states as she pulls out the Molotov cocktail.

Gwen looks around for her knife set and carefully bends down to reach it. She holds onto it tighter and follows the rest into the attic with Steve following behind.

Upon entering the room, it's significantly colder and there's more dust flakes flying around. There's faint light entering from the poorly boarded up windows and all kinds of furniture are scattered around as if a tornado had gone by.

Steve walks carefully, making sure not to step over any lingering vines. His eyes wander around until he finally sees him. Vecna is hovering in the air with dozens of tentacles hanging on his back. His eyes are closed and his arms are wide open – an invitation to officially initiate phase four.

Robin removes her backpack and gently sets it down. She glances at Steve and Gwen's direction, causing them to walk forward and reach for their cocktails. He takes a deep breath and finds himself excited to finally get to kill this monster once and for all. After all he did to the people he loves, getting burned alive sounds like clemency. He deserves much worse, something much more painful, and grotesque. Something that would torture him the same way he tortured everyone, but he figures, watching him burn should do the trick as it's a preparation for his descent down to hell.

Gwen grabs the lighter from Robin's hand and sets her cocktail on fire. She tilts her head slightly as she remembers everything this monster put her and her loved ones through. She's been looking forward to this for a very long time and now, the time has finally come to put an end to everything. She jerks her arm back and with a harsh and swift throw, she sends the cocktail flying in Vecna's direction.

The flames resemble the wings of a Phoenix, matching the fury and torture of the pits of hell. Its orange blaze used to be suffocating, but as it's flying with an oath of a promise of an eternity of misery, the fire has become a savior. It's become the answer and their protector – the one that will inflict the anguish, the terror, and all the pain that's happened over the past few years.

Right as the flames arrive at their destination, they surround Vecna's body like a blanket. He awakens with a blood curdling scream and flails his arms frantically. His tentacles break apart, releasing him and sending him crashing to the ground.

Vecna glances up and sees the four of them. He forms a low growl and starts rising. The fire burns him deeper than anything, but he brushes the pain off to glare at his prey.

Robin lights up her cocktail and smashes it against his body. He lets out another groan and begins moving forward. Gwen reaches for her knife set and sends them directly into his heart, creating a circular pattern in his chest that causes him to shriek in agony. She forms a soft smirk and glances over at Steve, who lights up his cocktail and tosses it directly into Vecna.

Nancy takes a few steps forward. She holds her shotgun against her and points it directly at him. One shot is fired, hitting him on the shoulder and causing him to stagger back. A second shot is fired, landing in his abdomen that sends him a few steps back in loud groans. The third shot is fired and hits him on the other shoulder. A fourth shot is given and Vecna grunts as he starts marching in her direction with a loud yell, but Nancy doesn't give him a chance to reach her. She pulls on the trigger with an extreme force and fires the final shot that sends Vecna flying through the window, signaling the end of everything.

"Is he dead?" Robin questions while glancing at the others for answers.

"There's only one way to find out," Nancy lowers her shotgun and starts sprinting down the stairs with Robin and Steve, but he comes to an abrupt stop when not sensing Gwen behind him. He turns around and as if his nightmares had come to life, he's tortured by the sight of seeing her struggling to remain standing.

"Gwen!" Steve catches her halfway into falling as she looks up at him with a disoriented gaze. He doesn't understand what's happening. She had been in perfect condition earlier and had her strength. Did he not see properly? Was he wrong in believing everything was alright?

"Steve, I- I don't feel... good," she struggles to speak as her breaths become heavy and ragged. Her chest feels like it's about to explode and everything around her seems off. She tries focusing on his face, but her sight is becoming hazy by the second.

He looks down at her body, wondering how he could have missed something. How could he have been so careless? Why couldn't he check well enough? He notices her hands and the way one is placed above her chest the same way she had earlier, an indication that it's the main culprit for her weakened state

Steve gently moves her hand aside and unzips her jacket. His heart sinks when finally knowing the reason as to why she kept clutching her chest all this time. It wasn't because she was out of breath due to the vines, it was due to the massive injury.

He doesn't want to panic. He doesn't want to think the worst, but seeing her blood seeping through her shirt and the way her eyes are struggling to remain open, he's terrified his world is going to end.

"You're going to be okay. We're going to get you out of here and you're going to be safe," he assures her while applying pressure on her chest and holding her close to him.

But Gwen knows better.

She knows when she has lost and this is one of those times.

"Steve-"

Sensing what she's about to say, Steve shakes his head and prevents her from speaking. He's not going to let her give up. Not when she has a life ahead of her and has fought so hard. He's not willing to let her say more knowing she's just going to try and make peace with this when she shouldn't. "You're going be fine. Please, just hold on." He looks over at the attic's door and screams as loud as possible, "Robin! Nancy!"

Gwen takes shaky breaths and tries her hardest not to let her emotions control her, but with every attempt, the harder it gets to remain composed. She doesn't want to die. She's not ready. She wants to live and move in with Steve in New York. She wants to experience the wonders this world has to offer by his side, but even through all her hopes and dreams, she knows when to be realistic... and now is the time.

Her hand reaches out for his, hoping to get one last touch of the sun, "Steve, I'm- I'm dying."

"No," he argues as his eyes fill with tears. "You're not dying. Do you hear me? You're not dying today." He glances back at the door and screams again, "Robin! We need help!"

Steve continues applying pressure on her chest as he decides that enough is enough. He's not going to stay here and watch the love of his life bleed out. He needs to try and take her back to safety, so with haste, he starts standing up with her in his arms, but has to stop when hearing her painful groans.

"Steve," she whispers as tears stream down her cheeks. She flinches as his hand continues applying more pressure and it's until then when he realizes that he's hurting her more than he's helping.

"You're going to be fine," Steve's voice breaks as he begins stroking her cheek. Her face that was always warm and had a rosy tint is now cold and void of any color. The purple under her eyes are more noticeable and her once strong grip is starting to fall loose. "Everything's going to be okay. Just hold on."

"Please- tell... Dustin that I love him," she cries as a sob rakes her body, "And that he was... a good brother." She stops to catch her breath, feeling the piercing pain start to gradually fade. "And my mom- tell... her that I-"

"No," Steve cuts her off as he cradles her head and tries blinking away his tears. "I'm not telling them anything because you're not dying. You're going to live and we're going to get out of here safe and sound." He glances back at the door, refusing to give up as he gives out one more yell, "I need help! Robin! Nancy!"

Gwen's now unable to prevent herself from crying. She's terrified of what's going to happen when she's gone. She made a promise to Dustin that she would return and she's going to break it. She promised Steve that this new beginning wouldn't end, but here she is about to break it again.

When not receiving a sign that help is on the way, Steve is hit with the harsh slap of reality. Help isn't coming and he's not able to keep her safe. She's going to die and he's going to be forced to live a life without his other half. No, this can't be happening. Why is this happening? Why is the universe so set on ruining everything?

He looks down at her, his gaze softening and tears now spilling. His hand reaches for hers as he squeezes it softly, placing it against his heart as he tries controlling his sobs for her. "I love you. I've always been in love with you ever since that day in 7th grade when you hit me with a volleyball. I love how you tried teaching me Spanish and never once gave up on me." His voice breaks as he struggles in speaking, but he can tell she needs to hear this. At least one last time. "I love everything about you. How you laugh with no care in the world, how you always have a snarky comment up your sleeve, the way you brush your hair, and scrunch your nose when deep in thought."

She smiles at his words, ignoring her struggling breaths and everything around her as right now, hearing his beautiful voice is what she desires.

"I love how you cheered so loudly for me at graduation, how you attempted dancing at the ball despite not knowing how. I- I love everything about you," Steve kisses her hand, unable to prevent his tears from streaming mercilessly. "I'll always love you, my Gwen, which is why you need to live. Once this is over, we're going to move in together. You're going to graduate from college and become an incredible filmmaker. We- we're going to get married and have our little nuggets. Maybe get a dog."

Gwen takes a ragged breath as her body starts trembling, "And also a- a.. cat."

He chokes on a small laugh and nods his head, "We'll get a cat as well. As many as you want."

She smiles as she pictures everything he's saying to her. It's an incredible life that she would love having and sharing with him. It's just what dreams are made of. "We'll have... two."

"We're going to be happy, Gwen," he promises. "Remember? We're meant to be, so you can't die, okay? You have to hold on just a little longer, because we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. It's you, it's me, it's us."

Gwen's heart becomes filled with immense love. She loves him, she really loves him and will love him for the rest of her life. Picturing a life with him brings her peace and solace, one she only gets by his side. He's her home, the air she breathes, the other half of her soul. It brings her great comfort hearing the life they could've had and getting to spend her last moments on this earth in his arms.

She smiles and squeezes his hand one last time, "It's us..."

Her once tight grip falls loose and it isn't until he sees the light from her eyes fade that he realizes his soulmate and love of his life is gone.

He remains still for a brief moment, still not fully comprehending she's no longer with him. He waits and waits, hoping by some miracle the heavens decide to bring her back, but she remains unmoving.

"Gwen?" Steve calls her and rests his palm against her cheek. He studies her features and waits for her eyes to open, but nothing happens, "Hey, hey. Gwen!" This can't be happening. She couldn't have left him. She promised him she would stay. He strokes her hair and ignores the lump forming on his throat as he tries blinking away the tears. When she wakes up, he doesn't want her first look of him to be this way. "You're okay. You're going to be alright."

Robin and Nancy finally reach the attic. The vines that remained had entrapped them, preventing them from reaching their friends on time. They stop by the doorframe and it isn't until seeing Steve breaking down and crying over Gwen's body that they realize the worst has officially happened.

"Stay with me. Stay with me, please," he begs, unable to contain his sobs any longer. He cradles her head and rubs his thumb against her cheek. Her once encapsulating warmth is no longer present and everything that made her Gwen has vanished. She doesn't have her usual sparkle, she doesn't have her rosy tint, and her angelic smile has forever vanished.

She's gone.

"Gwen? Gwen!" Steve continues pleading as he presses his forehead against hers. "No, please! Please don't go." He holds her in a tight embrace, refusing to let her go and believe that she's actually gone. They were supposed to have a life together. They were supposed to move in, they were going to get married one day, and eventually form a family. This wasn't supposed to happen. This shouldn't have happened. "No, please! Please come back! I can't do this without you!"

Nothing makes sense anymore. The person that kept him grounded and sane throughout all this is gone. She had been the air he breathed, and now there is no more air.

There's nothing.

Steve lets out an anguished cry and uncontrollable sobs as he holds her against him. He continuously whispers, "I love you," and even if she can't hear him anymore, he had promised to spend the rest of his life letting her know – even in her death.

"Gwen..." Nancy stands by the corner completely shattered. She had already lost a friend back in '83 and now she lost another. Once again, she couldn't do anything to save her and a grand part of her hates herself for having failed again.

"Steve," Robin whispers as she slowly makes her way over to her best friend. She knows she needs to be strong for him, but not even in her hardest attempts is she able to contain her grief. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Her words are ignored as all he could think of is how this was his fault. He should've made sure she was alright before moving on to phase four. He could've taken her back to safety and gotten her the help she needed, but instead, he did nothing. He didn't notice that she was in pain and continued on with the plan. Now she's gone and it's all on him.

Maybe Robin was right.

Not everything has a happy ending.

The sudden sound of the clock chiming catches Robin and Nancy's attention. One. Two. Three. Four. The last chime is much louder and stronger, representing the two deaths that happened at the same time and at the same place.

Vecna had lied. He never freed Gwen and this was his plan all along. With Max and Gwen dying at the same place, it made the Creel House the strongest opening into the Upside Down. It would become his fortress, the start of the end, and no one would be able to stop him.

Everything around them starts shaking with an uncontrollable force. The roof starts caving in, the floor splits open, and the walls start to crumble down.

Steve carries Gwen out of the way and shields her body, preventing anything from falling on her. Nancy and Robin try holding on to anything as they stare in sheer terror at the end unfolding right in front.

The ground stops its quaking after what seems an eternity. They remain frozen in place as they take in what this means.

Vecna won and the world as they knew it was over.

Author's Note

now that was a lot of damage...