My Number One (001/Henry Creel/Vecna x Reader)

Long Way to Go

Her cage was kept in a storage room at the back of the ship, and I crept into it and over to the cage, before lifting up the blanket. Through the bars wound with vines, I saw Eleven, hunched up inside the cage, tape on her mouth, and fear in her eyes. To be honest, my strongest emotion when I saw her was relief. She was still alive, and she hadn't escaped. But, beneath that, I worried. What if she had only just woken up and the Soteria device failed and was about to escape? Even worse, what if the general anaesthetic had messed her up? Gave her brain damage? What if the Demogorgon had used the wrong drug? I wanted to remove Eleven's tape to her her talk, to check if her speech would be coherent, but I couldn't risk it.

"Eleven," I said, "you're safe."

She mumbled under the tape.

"And you'll stay safe," I continued, "if you stay quiet. If Henry hears you, he'll kill you. The vines wrapped around the bars of the cage are the same kind which bound you in the basement in the Upside Down, so I'm sure you know by now how it would be no use trying to escape them." I didn't mention the Soteria device. It was better if she didn't know about it, in case she somehow managed to rip it out.

I worried about whether she'd die of dehydration any time soon, so I went back out to the wheelhouse to ask Henry how long the trip will last.

"About a month?" Henry estimated.

My heart dropped. "What?" I asked with a giggle, hoping he'd tell me he was joking.

"Yeah, it's a long journey from the US to Fiji."

"I knew it was long, but you didn't tell me it would last a month."

"Oh. Well, it does. That's not a problem, is it?"

"No."

"We'll have the rest of our lives to spend on Fiji."

"Yeah, I know, it's fine," I said. "Of course the trip is worth it."

I walked back out of the wheelhouse, my heart starting to race. What was I going to do? Did the Demogorgon have another dosage of the general anaesthetic left to use so I could safely remove her tape to feed and water her? But, that wouldn't work. She needed water every day. We couldn't put her under every day. I was just going to have to remove the tape and hope she would keep her mouth shut for her own safety.

I roamed the ship until I found the Demogorgon, who was playing cards with an older, large Demodog, who had almost evolved into a Demogorgon. I whistled and indicated for them to follow me.

When we reached the storage room, I instructed them to help me carry the cage down into the basement of the ship. Not in the engine room, because I assumed Henry would be entering that one throughout the duration of our trip, and not in any of the cabin rooms, as we'd be sleeping in that area. We moved Eleven into another storage room, right at the bottom of the ship, where there would be the least chance of Henry hearing her scream.

Once down there, I waited behind the Demogorgon as he did as I told him to do: stick his arm through the cage and remove Eleven's tape.

To my surprise, she didn't speak.

"Eleven?" I said.

She stared up through her furrowed brows.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know you're angry with me, and I understand. But I want you to understand that I did this for your own good. Without me doing this, you'd be dead, like every other person on the planet.

"I already told you," she said. "I'd rather it be that way."

"You don't mean that." I shook my head. "The majority of people who want to kill themselves end up, in later life, glad that they didn't. Glad that they had the chance to see what their life would become."

"How can you say that knowing that you took the lives of almost every person on the planet?"

"Never mind them. I care about you, Henry, and the babies. I just want you to see the beautiful life I'm going to give you. Give me a chance to show you. Trust me." I stepped forward, gently wrapping my hand around a bar of the cage, and whispered, "Eleven, you're my sister. You always have been—"

"You're not my sister," Eleven spat. "You're a monster. How could I ever trust you? You're delusional. You're dating the man who tried to murder me after I watched him kill a building of children, you then helped killed all of my friends and the rest of the planet, all before kidnapping me, keeping me hostage in a basement tied to the ground, drugging me, and locking me in a cage to bring me halfway across the world, where you're going to have me reside as an animal in a zoo, all the while expecting me to be grateful for it because I was spared. And you expect me to trust you."

"You're really cherry picking, Eleven. I've always had love for you."

"If this is your twisted idea of love, then your relationship with that psychopath really doesn't surprise me at all. Let me as you this, Twelve. If it was the other way round, and I was the one who had a boyfriend like Henry who killed everyone who stepped in his path, and I thought that locking you up in a zoo was a sufficient, humane, and deserving way for you to spend the rest of your life...how would you feel? Would you feel how I feel? Abused? Frustrated at how the other person can't see how much more you're worth? Frustrated at how they think it's fair that they get to roam the world, while you're restricted to an enclosure in a zoo? How they think they deserve that much power over you, superiority?"

"You've misunderstood me, Eleven. I don't think I deserve this freedom any more than you do. Not one bit. In fact, I know that you're the kinder of the two of us. If anyone deserves a good life, it's you. The reason I'm doing this is because there is no other way. There's no other choice I have unless it includes me, you, or Henry dying. And, with any of those options, I wouldn't be able to live. I know it's unfair. Of course I do. But it's the best I can do. And I will try to make your space as wonderful as possible. As I said before, you won't be living in a run-down enclosure like you're envisioning when I say the word "zoo". It's going to be the most beautiful building you've ever set foot in. Like it was built for a queen. I only use the word "zoo" because that is probably what will be used for the foundations of the building. You must believe me. I have no other reason to promise this, other than the fact that I want you to know the truth. Since you're held captive, there is no reason I would have to lie. If I was going to abandon you in some run-down enclosure, don't you think I would just do it? I would t waste my time and breath trying to convince you otherwise, because there would be no point; it would be inevitable that you would find out. I want to comfort you. I want you to know that, while this home is being made for you, you do not have to worry. My promise will not go unfulfilled."

With that, the sound of a creak came from behind me. The creak of the door across the room. I spun around to see Henry stood in its frame, looking right at me.