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The military base finally collapsed after a long battle between Demogorgons, soldiers and the team led by Joyce. Murray and Lucas were waiting in the truck while Robin, Will, Mike and Ms. Byers guided the children being pursued by Vecna to them.
Most officers were down. Others tried to put up a fight against the Demogorgons.
Robin had seen herself forced to go into the military base to pick up the kids who had been unable to escape due to the guards' capture. She needed to reach Joyce and Mike who were protecting them from the bullets and the Demogorgons. The children would be handed over to Robin so she could take them to Murray's truck. Then they would be driven to a safe place.
However, Vecna's appearance had ruined what had been designed as an almost perfect plan. When Robin arrived, she saw Will awake, yet shaky, lying on the floor. Joyce forming a shield for him while trying to bring him out of some sort of trance. Demogorgons, presumably dead, scattered all over the place.
What the hell?, Robin thought.
Nothing human could've killed those monsters, she knew that from experience. Except, maybe, fire. It would mean they weren't actually dead, though. Only temporally paralyzed. Vecna wouldn't butcher his own army of creepy creatures. Elven wasn't around. So, what the hell had happened?
Robin spotted Mike, Derek, and a few other boys a few meters away. They seemed to be okay. She then ran toward the Byers, who were hiding behind a half-destroyed military tank, intending to help Joyce carry Will to safety.
Nobody noticed the hole on the wall which linked the real word to the Upside Down. No one noticed Venca coming out from there, either. It wasn't until the soldiers who remained alive started shooting uselessly at the monster, that they all turned their attention to him.
Vecna throw the military tank in the air and it landed a few meters to the right. Robin, Joyce and Will sat on the pavement shocked. As Vecna began walking toward them, Robin acted instinctively. Her courage usually came from a more emotional and personal place, but at that moment she wasn't acting for herself but for Will, who she believed could stop the curse over Hawkins. They protected each other, that was their implicit agreement from the moment they decided to hunt Vecna until he burned in hell.
Robin stood, arms opened as a shied, in front of Will and Joyce.
We're going to die. There's no way out, not without Eleven. The Demogorgons are one thing, but Vecna himself? His power has only grown stronger after we set him on fire. The bastard never dies, what is Rockin' Robin going to do face to face with such monster?, she thought internally. Probably, the first time her mind was actually faster than her mouth. Only because she was too scared to emit a word.
Maybe lucky was on her side and Vecna just throw her away, like the tank. However, the moment he lift the right hand, she knew it wasn't the case.
Everything else happened in a flash.
Joyce felt Vecna's elongated skeletal fingers piercing through her, cutting into her muscles and organs like a dull knife. She had pushed Robin aside as Vecna aimed his crawls at her. No more avoidable deaths. Those were her son's friends, the ones who made him feel loved and valued. They supported him every single time he fought against the evil entity which possessed him.
Although it had been difficult to admit and they had had disagreements, Robin had helped Will a lot since the last mission went wrong by boosting his self-confidence and figuring out how he fit into Vecna's plan. As an outsider looking in—something Mrs. Byers, as Will's mother, couldn't exactly do—the radio girl had been right in her analysis: the original plan had flaws. It was a justified plan, though futile. Perhaps they should simply join forces to save Will. The group. Hawkins.
Joyce wasn't going to let the monster that had tormented her son for so long get away with her death without looking her straight in the eye. She stared at him intently as she grabbed his claws and tried to pull them away.
- Joyce- Vecna's voice echoed throughout the military base- Always obstructing my path. William is destinated to greater things than this world. You should be proud that he was the chosen one.
- I'm proud of him. He'll send you back to hell, you bastard.
Hopper
While chaos erupted outside the base, Hopper, Eleven, Kali, Dustin, Nancy, Steve and Jonathan struggled to escape the base after crossing the portal from the Upside Down to the real world.
They had released Kali and reached the other group, who had figured what the reason of the disgusting wall could be, to return home so they could organize an attack.
Eleven had knocked out some soldier. Hopper and Nancy had shot others. Kali was too weak to fight, yet. Dustin marked their path whilst Jonathan and Steve were in constant alert, baseball bats in hand.
Cautiously, the group made it to the front door, leaving unconscious soldiers along the way. What they didn't expect was the turmoil outside.
Gunshots, growls and loud screams were heard. Dustin and Steve signaled the rest to stay still and keep quiet so they could figure out what was happening.
- The base is under attack. There’re Demogorgons everywhere and... Wait a second... Mike?- Dustin said confused.
- Mike? What could he possible be doing here?- Steve asked just as confused.
- Shut up, Steve! I'm trying to see.
- Mike, Robin, Will, Mrs. Byers...- Dustin carried on.
- Joyce?- Hopper's voice spent almost unnoticed- Let me see, kid- he moved to stand next to Dustin.
- They're all here. There're soldiers lying on the ground, trucks on fire, I can't identify the rest. A tank is blocking my view- Dustin continued to describe.
- Okay, you guys stay here. I'll go out. You stay here until I come back, understood?- Hopper ordered.
Nobody answered, but they all nodded.
Behind the tank which obstructed Dustin's view, Hopper witnessed a horrific scene. There were dead Demogorgons on the floor along with dozens of soldiers bodies. Everything on fire. The smell of singed skin reached him. Will was lying on the floor presumably unconscious, Mike was kneeling next to him, shaking him as if trying to wake him up. Then, Jim's eyes spotted Robin a few meters away from the boys, also kneeling next to a unmoving body. No, it couldn't be.
He'd recognize that brown coat anywhere. His heart sank. He stood there frozen for what felt like centuries.
- Joyce- he murmured her name in a heart-wrenching whisper. A silent cry filled with despair.
Will
Will was lying on the cold pavement when he heard a distant scream through his trance. Then, he saw it. Vecna was showing it to him on purpose or their connection was working on its own, Will saw Vecna's claws as if they were his own hands, stabbing his mother. He watched Joyce in the air with an expression of pain and rage on her face. She looked directly into Vecna's eyes. And into Will's eyes, too.
He fought to control it. He tried harder than ever. Maybe Mike was right and he could control it. Either way, his mom was already hurt. Whatever he could've done, it should've been earlier.
He'd been condemned to a curse. Vecna's curse. Then, his family and friends had gone down into the hole with him. It was matter of luck that nobody ended up dead during the previous battles. El, Hopper and Max had been the closest calls.
- Mom!- he cried. It was barely a whisper.
He kept trying to move but his body didn't react.
Robin
After being pushed by Joyce, Robin remained motionless on the floor, terrified to make any movement. The shock was so intense that it prevented her from registering what was happening.
As soon as Joyce fell to the ground, Robin took her jacket off and placed it over Joyce's wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She truly didn't know what to do, it was a matter of survival instinct.
- No, no! Hey, Joyce, look at me. That's it, stay focused on me, okay? You'll be fine. Just... Don't close you eyes, please- desperation and angst run through her veins, boiling her blood.
Probably for the first time in her life, Robin had a lump in her throat that prevented her from speaking. She kept repeating cliché phrases from movies.
- Will...- Joyce stuttered.
- Yeah, he's... Um... He'll be here in a minute. He's fine. He just save us from dying and is now checking on Mike. It seems he didn't see what happened, I think those trances make him unconscious, you know?. Yeah, of course you know, you're his mom. Stupid question- Robin words were coming out faster than usual. She took a deep breath and concentrated on helping- So, you just have to resist until he arrives, okay? Focus on breathing. In and out. You're doing great.
Only that she wasn't doing great. In fact, with every passing second, more blood spread through Joyce's weakened and wounded body. Robin thought about what could be done, but they were in an apocalyptic situation. Options were scarce.
It should've been Robin. She was Vecna's target. Joyce just got in the way. And she was dying because of her. Jesus Christ. Hawkins wasn't the only thing that had been turned upside down. Their lives had been too. The idea of being prepared to lose any of their friends at any moment was terrifying. Yet, she had grown accustomed to it in a very short time.
The reunion
Once that Hopper recovered from the shock, he run towards Joyce, forgetting about everything and a everyone else.
Dustin saw him and tried to yell at him, but he was already far away to hear it. They went out and encountered the same horrific vision.
As soon as Hopper reached the spot where Joyce lay, he grabbed her and stroked her cheek with his hand.
- Joyce... Hey, I'm here, stay with me.
- Hop...- her eyes widened and she tried to smile.
She silently thanked God for allowing her to see that he was okay.
It was the first time they saw each other in days. They both thought that if anyone's life had been in danger during the crawls, it was his. Every single time Hopper walked into the Upside Down, he memorized Joyce in case it was the last day of his life. It had never crossed his mind that the night in the woods, before crawl 37, would be the last imagine he would had of her alive and happy.
Jim was supposed to take his mental image of Joyce to the grave. Not the other way around. He had the explosive vest strapped to his chest. She was in a safe place surrounded by the rest of the team. He knew it would be impossible for him to survive another meaningful lost. He'd already lost the most important person in his life. He couldn't go through that pain again.
- Yeah. It's okay, you're going to be fine. I promise.
- Don't...- she coughed- Don't make promises you can't keep, Hop- her face was pale and her voice weak- Please, take care of the kids for me.
- You'll keep doing it yourself, as you always have.
- No... Jim, don't lie to me. Just promise me that you will take care of them.
- I will. I promise. I will.
- Okay- Joyce smiled at him with what little strength she had left. However, she forced herself to continue- And... Don't you ever dare to blame yourself for this, okay? We knew it was going to be dangerous- She was clearly struggling to get each word out- Those kids need you. I'm so proud of the family we have. Don't let this monster destroy it.
They had had dozens of conversations about her guilt over his fake death and Russia. She'd blamed herself each day of those eight months. She used to think that everyone else also blamed her, too. Even if El had assured her that they didn't. Besides, Joyce was aware of his tendency to condemn himself for every person he had "failed". He lived with that torment and she didn't want to become another one.
He had a lump in his throat. What should he say? Should he lie to her at a time like this just to reassure her? Because he was absolutely certain that he would blame himself for it.
-Hop...- Her voice was barely a whisper, and the effort it took her to pronounce each word was palpable.
He needed to save her. Not just for the kids. But also for himself. There, lying on the cold pavement in a pool of blood, was the woman who had saved him from ruin. The woman he loved and had promised to protect for the rest of his days.
He failed her, too.
- Yes, I'm right here- Hopper responded to her soft plea.
She reached for his bloody hand which was covering her wounds and squeezed it.
- I love you. I've never felt safer with anyone else.
- I love you too, Joyce.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she could no longer keep them open. She closed them slowly as if memorizing him for the last time.
- No, no, no. Joyce, c'mon, look at me- He kept talking to her even when she gave no signs of life anymore. His eyes were full of tears, too. And, his voice broken. Abruptly, he directed his eyes to Robin, who was crying overwhelmingly - We need to take her to the hospital right now.
- All the roads are blocked, Hopper. There's no way to get her out of here. Besides, if we move her, there's a good chance her injuries will get worse.
- How much worse can it get? She's dying- he shouted at Robin.
He turned his gaze to Joyce, who lay lifeless in his arms. Jim checked for her pulse, but there was nothing to sense. He wasn't going to let her go so easily. He began performing CPR with the same intensity with which he had revived Will years ago in the Upside Down.
Several minutes passed of him trying to revive her, while Robin looked for a car or any other available means of transportation. However, there were none. Everything around them had been burned down. She was shaking and crying inconsolably as she listened to Jim's senseless words as he tried to bring Joyce back to life.
She wasn't waking up, and Robin had the sudden feeling that the world would never contemplate those big, warm brown eyes again. But she didn't dare stop Hopper from trying to save the woman he loved.
Until there was a split second when Robin's mind overloaded and she needed to stop the noise or she would collapse.
- Stop, Jim. Please, stop. She's dead. Just, please, stop. There's nothing else we can do. I'm sorry- she shouted at him, choking with tears, as she knelt down again beside Joyce.
The moment she spoke, Will and Mike were heading toward them. Will was already crying and Mike looked completely shocked. When she looked up, Robin saw Dustin, Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan running toward them. Behind the group she still believed to be lost in the Upside Down was Eleven, hugging another girl and walking in the same direction.
Eleven separated herself from the girl, leaving her with the group. Then, she knelt down next to Hopper, parallel to Joyce's chest. With tears streaming down her face, she couldn't bear to witness another death indirectly caused by her.
Mike hugged Will. Nancy held Jonathan. Both brothers were crying inconsolably at the sight of their mom lying lifeless on the floor. The whole group was devastated. Joyce had somehow become the heart of the team. Because if there was one thing that truly defined Joyce, it was her kindness and courage. The mother who never gave up on her missing son. The woman who refused to accept that her partner was dead and traveled the world based on a letter. She never gave up. Not in the boring real world, nor in the Upside Down. The only adult, along with Hopper, who believed in them. Who protected them.
Despite everything that had happened in recent years, all the members of the group were still teenagers learning how hard life could be. They were forced to grow up faster than others and Joyce had been there to make them feel safe.
They had seen her suffer enough to know that she deserved better than to die before enjoying her newfound happiness without the constant worry of interdimensional creatures pursuing her family.
What if Will ended up loosing his mom after everything she had done to keep him safe? Did her protectiveness take her to the limit of sacrificing herself for him? Was Will to blame for this?
How could Eleven lose another mother? Would she ever forgive herself for not killing Vecna before he took away the most loving woman she had ever met?
Did Jonathan believe himself capable of surviving without his best, and probably only, role model?? His mom had always supported them; could he do the same for Will?
How was it fair for Nancy and Mike to see the woman who had lived with them for the past eighteen months and had become a second mother figure to them die on the cold floor after fighting the monster responsible for nearly killing their family and kidnapping their sister?
Was Hopper supposed to kneel there, watching the light that guided his life fade away the moment she closed her beautiful brown eyes, and go on living as if life had any meaning?
The silence was piercing. Eleven had her right hand on Hopper's back, comforting him. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind and she immediately acted on it.
She'd revived Max.
Could she do it again with Joyce? That was her mom. At least she had to try.
Eleven removed her hand from Jim's back and placed it on Joyce's heart. Then she closed her eyes and began to remember the moments they had spent together. The times she had seen Joyce happy.
Soon, the memories took on a life of their own.
All those months they had spent as a family. Even with the quarantine and El being pursued, Hopper had showed her what a functional family could be like.
The first time they met El, when she was just a lost little girl. All those long nighttime conversations in sunny California, when mother and daughter hugged each other inconsolably after the explosion of the Russian machine changed their lives.
The memories were there, but they weren't powerful enough. Eleven had exhausted herself, just as Jim had feared. She couldn't bring her mother back to life on her own.
Unexpectedly, she felt another hand on hers. It was Will's. He had heard what she'd done to Max, so if she could do it, maybe he could too. He didn't understand the nature of his newly discovered powers, but he needed to try.
Eleven didn't understand why he would do that. However, she felt a force coming from his hand and let the moment flow.
The connection grew stronger. More happy moments in Joyce's life emerged.
Her boys running around the house. Jonathan taking photos while she danced with Will on Christmas Eve. Will's drawings. Jonathan's music. Eleven hugging her when they reunited after believing she had died protecting the boys from the Demogorgon. Jim Hopper reappearing in her life again and again. Decades had passed between high school and their reunion at the police station, yet he still looked at her with the same affection he had so many years ago. With the same love. He'd stood firm alongside her family to keep them safe from the nightmares, the monsters, the criticism and all consequences of the Upside Down.
Then, life taught her not to take him for granted. She'd traveled all the way to Russia and rescued him from the cruel torture he had been put through for refusing to betray her. Their reunion inside the prison, how they clung to each other feeling other's heartbeats. Their kiss in the church. Passionate, longed for, and real. More real than any previous kiss in her lifetime. He made her feel things that weren't in her vocabulary. Things she never thought herself worthy of.
Those eighteen months they spent as a family. Laughs, movie nights, music, games, lunches and love. All the love that fate had taken from them in different ways. Five damaged pieces fitting together perfectly, sharing all the love that had been denied to them.
Was that her faith? Realizing that someone could love her for who she really was, just to vanish from existence. Finding another home for her children, so they would know that loneliness wasn't the only option, in time to leave them protected. Helping to destroy the bastard who ruined her family and everyone who had the courage to get involved with her, sacrificing her own life. Had those eighteen months been a distorted taste of happiness before the end?
- Please, Joyce- Hopper's desperate voice echoed over the memories that sought to bring her back to life. Back to the people who loved her.
When everyone had lost hope, a soft sigh was heard as Will and El felt a heart begin to beat again under their loving touch.
Joyce Byers was breathing again. It was almost imperceptible, but she was. Her hand was still clasped in Hopper's and he felt a slight squeeze. He assumed it had been unconscious, because her eyes were still closed. However, his face brightened, reflecting the hope that had been lost. Joyce felt weaker than ever, and although she couldn't open her eyes or move any part of her body, she could feel that her family was there with her. She was sure it wasn't the end.