Who: Ace and Nancy What: Ace saves Nancy When: Oct 19 [Backdated!] Where: Upside Down Rating: low Status: Completed Gdoc
To say Ace was tired was an understatement. Ever since Nancy had gone missing three days ago, he had been searching for her. The search had started at her apartment and what he found there had given him more questions than answers. He did know those questions had nothing to do with her disappearance, though, and eventually he came to the conclusion that Nancy had to been on the other side of the portals that were cropping up around town.
And so Ace had been searching. He had brought a big backpack of supplies. What was once a heavy pack was now much lighter. Ace, too, was dirty with bags around his eyes and a frown that just wouldn’t go away. He needed to find Nancy.
Once Ace figured out the Upside Down was a mirror of Madison, he started tracking down any place it made sense for Nancy to be - her apartment, the police station, the newspaper. He was making his way to the park. He wondered if there was an Upside Down TARDIS. Somehow the Doctor was part of what he saw back in the real apartment and maybe he’d find Nancy ther.
–
The first day in this place was a nightmare with Nancy pushing the limits and testing out theories to try and figure out what she needed to know about this place. She had some cuts on her and her knee was cut up from a fall, but other than that, she wasn’t in horrible shape all things considered. If only her cell would work, then things might be a bit better. At least, she had it for some light trying to save the charge on her phone as much as possible because she really didn’t have any idea how long she’d be stuck down here.
Nancy wasn’t even sure if the dome gave them a way out, but she was sure there had to be some way. Maybe a hole or something considering how this place seemed to be like a flipped version of Madison. A darker version of it, which made the normal one a lighter version. She had lost track of time being in here and the lack of sun within the place. Already having made the decision even if she found an exit, she’d mark it and then try to find people who may be in here to help. With the noises she heard and things she saw, Nancy wasn’t about to leave anyone behind. Deciding to do another stop by the park, she had gone by there a few times while down here, hoping to find someone. So far she had no luck until today. The sight of someone in the distance caught her attention, avoiding vines while trying to get a better look on who they might be.
When she saw it was Ace, a smile broke out before it turned to worry. Why was he down here? Did the dome try to screw him over again? Against her better judgment, she yelled his name to get him to stop. “Ace!” She moved as quickly as she could with the vines, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Her eyes shutting as she held him close, ignoring all the stuff he had for the moment. After a moment she pulled away, “Did the dome send you down here as well?” If he came down here on his own like it was looking, she couldn’t promise she wouldn’t kill him herself.
—
He was a little worse for wear, but somehow Ace managed not to get injured too badly. Maybe it had something to do with his natural ability to blend in. People didn't seem to notice him too much day to day. Maybe that translated to monsters in a weird alternate dimension. He had some cuts on him and some bruises. His most notable would be the gash on his cheek and a claw mark of something having taken a swipe at his chest, but only attacking the fabric and not his flesh.
Somehow he managed to find Nancy and he felt immense relief wash over him. The further he made it through this place, the more it became clear that this place was immensely dangerous.
"Nancy" He breathed out her name in relief, his smile warm and holding the fondness he held for her over anyone else.
He gave her an equally big hug, tight and reassuring before he pulled back to give her a once over. "I came in looking for you. Some people woke up missing and there are these portals all around town. When I went to your place and realized you were gone, I knew you'd be in here. – Are you okay?"
–
Nancy hadn’t trusted herself to really sleep down here, especially with the noises that she was hearing. While she had seen some of the monsters even more so when testing theories, Nancy had managed to stay out of sight and avoid any run ins with them. Thankful for that since Nancy knew she had been pushing some limits when learning what she could. Somehow Ace looked like he’d been the one stuck down here rather than her. The lack of sleep had Nancy not thinking things through as clearly as she normally would. This showed when they finally broke the hug.
Not before she allowed herself to stay wrapped in his arms, holding him tight to her. It was almost as if she was afraid of letting him go would have him vanish. A smile showed up at hearing him say her name. When he pulled back, she had a better look at his injuries, her fingers moving to run over the gash on his cheek before she could stop herself. Nancy with all her sleep would’ve stopped herself, fearing how that might come across, but the lack of sleep had her not thinking at all about that.
That was until she heard how he came in looking for her. “Ace, you shouldn’t have come in here!” Her tone was serious but filled with worry at the idea of him coming in after her. Forgetting for the moment or more like not thinking about how Ace had no clue why him coming down here was stupid. How she was not worth him putting himself in the way of any danger. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you,” she was trying to make that sound like in a friendship way even if that wasn’t how she meant it. “Haven’t slept, got some cuts and bruises, and I feel like one wrong step I’m going to be killed by something, but other than that I’m fine. What about yourself? Cause it looks like you’ve gone through hell.”
—
Ace expected to be scolded. Nancy was never good at asking or accepting help, even when she needed it. She had been trying to get better back home in Horseshoe Bay, but it seems to be taking a back seat here in Madison for some reason.
"I'm okay." He meant it. Mostly he was okay now that he found her and they could deal with it together, but he didn't say anything. "Besides, I know the way out." He offered a small smile.
At the mention of surviving, he nodded. "I learned not to touch the vines. It's like their nerve endings and communicate with the monsters here." Ace had learned the hard way. He had missed the info the kid on the network had given them.
"So… want to get out of here?" He made it sound easy even if they'd have to survive while heading back to the portal he knew about.
–
Nancy hated how she had to change habits that she had started to become accustomed to from back home. She had lost track of how many times she almost texted or called Ace for help on something before stopping herself because he couldn’t. Just like now, if this had been before the hex, she’d be mad with him putting himself in danger considering sometimes she wondered if all the awkward positions the dome put them in, if it had triggered the hex or not. Was he on ticking time? Still, she was thankful for him coming down even if she was mad at the same time. It was a wild ride of emotions within her at the moment.
A sigh of relief came from her on hearing he was okay, but she hadn’t noticed anything seriou on him injury wise. “Really?” Nancy knew it was a stupid question the moment it left her mouth. This was Ace and no part of him would lie or make up something like that. “You’re the best, you know that?. Where is it?” Nancy had been trying to find the exit since waking up here, and this place had not made it easy. The fact Ace knew the exit had her feeling much better on how she might get home.
“Yeah, I ran into a girl who knows this place and she was trying to make sure people knew the important parts of this place to stay safe. I’m pretty sure she was determined to make it known for all of us who ended up down here.” Nancy appreciated it and would probably get the girl a gift card as a thanks for the helpful advice. “I can tell you it’s not easy in some spots to avoid the vines.” Hopefully, they didn’t hit those spots when heading for the exit.
“Nah, I feel like we should stay longer and maybe take a walk around the town,” she said before motioning with her hand for him to lead the way. “No, I’m ready to go home and take a hot shower along with sleep for the next few days. Which way are we going?” Nancy was glad to have him even if some of it was for a selfish reason because it had been lonely down here with no one to really talk with other than herself.
—
Nancy would probably be happy to hear that near death experiences meant most heightened emotions blended in with each other. For Ace’s side of things, he was just grateful Nancy wasn’t dead. He had been scared he wouldn’t be able to find her until it was too late.
“Near the library. Convenient for us. Not so convenient for a few kids who had stumbled in, though they were saved pretty quickly.” A lot was happening back in Madison as well as in here. The Dome was serving up some chaos this month.
Ace knew it was probably selfish, but he was glad Nancy didn’t say ‘regroup and come back in here’. While he’d follow her anywhere, this seemed above their skillset. They were more supernatural solvers, not supernatural battlers.
He gestured in the right direction, then stepped over a vine. “I think I remember seeing another kid mention this place was in their world.” He paused, then felt the need to explain, “I kind of got a bit hyper focused and ignored the network for a bit.” He couldn’t help it though - this was Nancy.
–
Her eyes widened and a look of concern came over her face at hearing about the few kids who had stumbled in. But hearing that they were saved pretty quickly brought a sigh of relief. “Bet those kids didn’t see that as how their day was going to start.”
Nancy wanted to get Ace out of this place as soon as possible, but she also couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to help others. As much as she wanted to get Ace home ASAP, she wasn’t raised to be only about her wants. Could she live with herself if anything happened to Ace? No, and this inner battle was not helping in the mission of getting back home. “Do you mind if we take the longer route to the library?” Nancy normally did what she wanted, but this time she was wanting Ace to be okay with it. His life was on the line as well.
‘I don’t feel comfortable leaving without trying to help others who might be still looking for a way out. We can stick to the route and help anyone we find?” Nancy wanted it known she wouldn’t go off the route to the library to go searching for people, especially after he risked his neck to come for her.. Unless….maybe, she heard someone needing help. That was okay, right?
His comment came as she was stepping over a vine, almost losing her balance in the process from what he said. Using him to catch herself by grabbing onto his shoulder that was in front of her to steady herself. “What?!?!” Her tone was a little louder than she meant before resaying the same thing at a lower volume. Her heart did pick up the pace a bit on realizing how concerned he was for her, knowing his focus had been on her. But that didn’t excuse how dangerous this was, especially with one wrong move from her and a countdown on his life could start. “You shouldn’t have ignored the network! You could’ve walked right into even more danger than you did, Ace.” Yes, she knew she was one to talk on taking risks, but this was Ace and she couldn’t lose him. “Thank you for coming for me though. I…” she almost said something that she shouldn’t, knowing the price. But all she had been thinking about down here were things she might never get to tell Ace. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” A frown showed clear on her face as she went with a much safer option than what she wanted to say to him.
—
Of course Nancy wanted to stay a bit more to see if people were safe. It's one of the things Ace loved about her even if it was also something that drove him nuts about her too. With Nancy it was usually both and Ace was okay with that. He nodded to her. "Okay. Let's take the long way around and see if we can't find anyone else who needs help." Ace would have helped others on the way to find Nancy, though it hadn't been an issue. Selfishly, he was okay with that.
He caught Nancy and not for the first time, he felt the rush of heat run through him. It was always the same - just her presence had a certain affect on him, even if he didn't outwardly always show it. He'd gotten good at hiding how he felt about most things. He had his dad to thank for that.
He should have just said 'you're welcome', but he didn't. Instead he said, "Always" and followed it up with a small, but sincere. Then he decided to address her admonishment. “I’ll try to do better next time, but we both know you’d do the same for me. Or for Nick or George or any of your friends.” He added the last part on purpose. “Besides, I happen to have this friend who’s helped me figure out how to survive this kind of stuff and she’s a pretty good teacher.” He gave her another smile.
–
Nancy knew this wasn’t exactly the best place to be taking the long way around, but she couldn’t help it. And she knew Ace would go along with it, which she was very thankful for. Most of the time she had no problem just going off on her own when people weren’t for the idea, and yet, she was trying to be better about that. There was also the fact that this place wasn’t Madison or back home, she really didn’t want to be off on her own now that Ace had come down here. “Thank you,” she said with a smile when he seemed on board with the plan. Not that she didn’t think he would be, but the confirmation was nice, and the fact she wasn’t having to do it on her own.
When he caught her, she felt herself get lost in his eyes, looking at him and her heart felt like it skipped a beat. All things she tried to avoid and didn’t need, especially right now when they were in this screwed up place. Snapping herself back out of it before she did anything that she couldn’t take back. Not that she would take it back under normal circumstances, but their situation wasn’t normal. Quickly removing her hand from his shoulder and fixing her hair, focusing on anything that would get her back in check and off of thinking about making bad decisions.
His always had her torn between wanting to react to that and saying something that would push him away. Nancy knew the safer and better option would be something that’d make any guy even Ace probably pull back some. But she couldn’t get herself to do it. All the thinking she had done down here on her feelings around Ace, she knew she couldn’t say how she felt; however, she wasn’t sure if she could keep putting up her walls and pushing him away. “We both know I’d do it without any question and even if people were telling me to think it over. You know for you and them as well,” she said in reference to Nick, George because she would just like he knew how well Nancy listened when people told her not to do something. The only difference of it all was with Ace, she knew she’d rush in probably with not much of a plan. With the rest of their friends, she’d be wanting a plan before rushing in to save them. “She sounds like a great teacher. Make sure to let her know I said that,” she smiled. “For now, lead the way because I’m ready to get out of here.”