[ o-kay. okay. nancy's been at the mercy of one of mike's rants before, even a few that were directed at her for one reason or another, but this isn't like that. not really. out of context, half of the things he's saying don't sound like they could be real. it sounds like he could be talking about what happened during one of their more brutal campaigns, down in the basement. they killed will, but brought him back? they were tossed into an arena and left to their own defenses? but the intensity behind every word keeps her frozen in place, even as her heart hammers in her chest. it's real. this is real. he's been through all of this and she wasn't there to help, or protect him.

the logical part of her brain knows she had no control over mike showing up here and was stuck dealing with it all on his own for some of that time - especially considering he had been home with her that whole time, somehow - but there's another part of her, the one that wanted to track down the demogorgon to avenger barb, and for will, and get to the bottom of the story with the new monster that was trying to destroy hawkins... that part of her wants to tear this whole town apart for making mike hurt the way he's clearly hurting right now.

she wants to reach out, give him a hug and hope that it could be half as comforting as a hug from their mother would be right now, but instead her hands just move towards him a bit before she stops herself. she doesn't know what to do. ]

I can't promise things are going be different now that I'm here, I know that, but I can promise that you won't ever have to fight anything alone again. I'm not going to let that happen.