Work Text:
“Were you scared?”
The sound of Mike’s voice triggered emotion, visions - his words triggered memories, core feelings. Flashes of dimly lit bright white lights that hung over the tight hallways, reflecting against the white tiles of the floor and walls, blinding Eleven. The men dragging her down the hall were unaffected by the bright away, her papa, standing tall and firm at the other end of the hall looked through the bright white with disappointment. He was disappointed in her, angry, furious and sad with the outcome of her latest test - killing. She couldn’t do it, she couldn’t kill.
The cat was hissing, yowling, screaming in anger and fear within the cage it sat and Eleven wore her psychic crown upon her head to take readings on her reactions and actions. She didn’t do it and was dragged away, legs struggling on the floor as she called out to her father, her papa, waiting for him to rush after her and take her away from the horrid men who were banishing her to the dark room she knew so well.
Not her bedroom, not the white room with the comfortable bed and the loving colorful picture hung above the frame. This room that she was thrown into was dark and dull, colorless and bleak. There was nothing there, she would be locked away forever, until her father pitied her enough to let her out of the room and into the world filled with more bright whites and angry men, men who punished her when she failed her tests.
She was thrown, frail body hitting the concrete, easily causing black and blue bruising to start forming on her arm and back, bones aching from the impact and cold of the room that soaked through her hospital gown. Her mind was empty, emotions pushed back and void as her hard eyes bored into the two men who were in the process of closing her door. Everything went too quickly, but were moving in slow motion when it happened. Once twitch of her head and a body fell to the ground with a sickening crunch and dull thump, another twitch and the other was sent to the wall with a thud, soon following his companion to the floor in a pile of death.
Her first kills and she was exhausted, color and feeling returning to her body, softness creeping into her eyes and her body slackened against the wall she leaned on. Her tired eyes moved to her papa who stood in the doorway, gentle hands reaching out to her that she happily accepted, enveloping his oddly freezing body as he helped her from the room. ‘Good Job’ he told her, good job passing your test.
“Eleven?”
She was plunged, into the darkness she was so familiar with. Days within the cold concrete room introduced her to the feeling of being surrounded by darkness, loneliness and fear. But this dark was different, it was liquid and creeped into her body and mind. It was a test, head and body encased by protective gear as she was sent into water. Unfamiliar faces surrounded the area she went in, eyes that were boring into her when she first entered the room with papa, he telling her that they meant no harm and were instead there to help her in any way that they could.
She believed him and he sent her into the liquid embodiment of fear that swallowed her whole but left her alone in a area of endless darkness that she could see no end to. The only end was what she stood upon, but she could not break through it. It was solid, but not, also liquid and splashed when she took steps among it. Her test was to listen to a man, hear what he said and project it to the room, and she did. Then came the presence, the presence of something unknown to her that she so heavily feared. She couldn’t be there, shouldn’t, and she ran - she ran as fast as she could out of the darkness, being pulled out by her father and the unfamiliar faces that surrounded her.
She entered the darkness many times after that, once again by her papa and other times she visited it herself to listen to those she cared so deeply for. She listened to Mike, watched Mike and his fear which only spiked her. She watched Hopper, the man who took her in a gave her a home, he was uneasy and that made her uneasy. These two people had sent her home, they were who sent her back to Hawkins with a newfound determination to help them to the best of her ability.
“Yes.”
She finally answered, unaware of the floods of tears that were pouring down her cheeks, unaware of how frantic and worried Mike had became, kneeling in front of her with his hands on her shoulders, eyes worried and watching her as she came back to him, exiting the memories and emotions that was brought onto her. Her eyes found his and he pulled her close, small arms enveloping her in a tight hug, whispering content words of good emotions to comfort her, to keep her sane and stable in his arms.
“Are you scared now?”
He finally manages to ask after a few moments of silence, her still cradled in his arms with tears yet being produced from her sad eyes.
The feeling of loneliness plagued the young girl when she left, when she trekked through the forests, when she stole food from a kind chubby man in a diner that gave her all she needed when he discovered her state of mind and physical appearance.
She wasn’t scared then, she was happy and content with being supplied proper food and resources within the diner. She only began to fear when a woman appeared and Eleven made another daring escape of murder that kept her on the run.
She was frightened when Mike found her and was frightened when he took her into his home. He was even frightened to accept his food because the last time she accepted food from a welcoming stranger, they died. Mike did not, he didn’t ever leave her permanently. Even when he did leave her, when she left him, the two always found their way back to each other in some way.
That’s how she found herself being held by the young boy within the Byers home, the aftermath of the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer still evident in everyone’s conscious. She felt safe, she was not afraid because she sealed it, she sealed the gate that she had opened and created. There may be the feeling of something foreboding, but Eleven ignored it only because she’d rather focus on her current emotions, the feeling of Mike’s arms wrapped around her in a hug and the sense of home that she felt with the house being alive with noise of the Byers huddled in Wills room and the rest of their party in the kitchen, talking excitedly of what happened with Steve and Nancy standing in the corner, smiles upon their faces at the sight. They separated when their names were called, Jonathan appearing from the hallway and Dustin calling out Steves name, both teens going to whom called them.
Hopper returned to the home from putting Billy in the station, leaving him with Hoppers very confused deputies and staff at the police station. He excused himself from the room and entered Will’s room to stand with Joyce, there to comfort her in the situation.
Eleven was not scared, she was content and safe, secure and joyful to be with those who truly cared for her, taking her emotions into care. She was with her true family now and nothing could change that or take it away.
“No.” She answered.