0 0 1 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟺𝟽: 𝙶𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜

"Like I said before, I wanted this to be easy," James' voice continued inside One's mind.

Another one of his limbs barreled down and One was just barely able to roll out of the way before it struck. "Did you ever know me to make things easy?" One answered between huffs as she tried to regain her breath. She pushed herself to her knees and glared up at James.

"You know, my original plan was just to take you after I lured you to the Upside Down to save me," James informed One. "But then I saw you through the window of the Byers' house and old feelings emerged. I wanted you to willingly join me and I thought that the best way to do that was to spend more time with you, to remind you of what used to be...Clearly that didn't work."

"Clearly," One disdainfully agreed.

"What does he have that I don't?"

One had just made it to her feet when his question nearly toppled her over again. "What? Who are you talking about?"

"Steve," James answered. "Why do you love him more than you loved me?"

"Maybe because he has a human body and he isn't trying to kill everyone I love..."

James responded by smashing another tentacle down on her, but yet again she was able to evade it. It was getting more difficult, however, and the cuts, scrapes, and bruises that she had accumulated from the fight at the Lab were on fire. She didn't know how much longer she could keep it up and she didn't know how much James was actually even trying. She assumed that a prerequisite for him merging her powers with him was that she had to be alive.

"Fine," One answered after spitting a strand of hair out of her mouth. "I don't love one of you more than I loved the other. It's different. When it was you and me, it was you and me, you know? You were the only one I had and we went through so much together. But with Steve, I'm not constantly reminded of my past. I can actually think about my future, about my happiness. I can be the person I was supposed to be."

"You think this is who you were supposed to be?" James scoffed, the anger in his voice beginning to elevate once more. His shadowy form moved closer and One could feel the winds pick up. "A weak, pathetic human? I'm offering you so much more! I'm offering you unbelievable power and a realm of your own to rule! How could you turn that down?"

"I never wanted my powers!" One yelled up at the mass of inky blackness. She felt a lump form in her throat and she had to push past it before she could continue speaking. "They're a constant reminder of being taken from my family, of the pain and torture I endured for years! I'd give them up in a heartbeat if it meant that I got to see my loved ones even just one more time!"

"Well, lucky for me, I never had anyone to give mine up for," James responded.

Some of One's anger melted away after hearing the pain in James' voice. "James."

One knew he wasn't lying about this or trying to trick her. That pain was genuine. Even back at the Lab, James had been so adamant about never seeing his family again. He had clung to the narrative that they had abandoned him and she couldn't entirely blame him, because for a while, she had believed the same thing about her family.

"James, it's not too late! We can find your family, you can be happy!"

"Haven't you been listening?" James growled as he whipped one of his limbs over One's head and sent it crashing into the building next to her. Chunks of cement, bricks, and other loose debris came raining down over One's head and she had to bolt across the street to safety. "That's what I'm trying to do! I'm trying to get to the Diagonal so that I can obtain more power, and then I'll be happy!"