"The next words out of your mouth better be that you understand, Liza or so help me-"
"I understand" Liza nodded, fingers crossed behind her back.
~x~
In which Liza Henderson fights against the Upside Down with the help of her friends.
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~x~
Liza didn't remember how they got back, it was fuzzy and rushed. She could barely remember finding Steve, Nancy and Robin. What she could remember was the world going to hell in a handbasket. The ground opened up and split Hawkins into four pieces. Liza's eyes widened as she looked at Steve, feeling like ice water had been thrown onto her as she realised what it meant.
"No." Liza whispered, her voice breaking. "What happened? I thought. . ." The blonde looked between Steve and Robin with worried eyes.
"The clock chimed four times." Robin spoke softly, unsure on how Liza would take the news. "He claimed his final victim."
"No, this isn't funny." Liza shook her head, backing away from her boyfriend and friend as they stared at her in worry. She felt like she was going to be sick. "This isn't funny! Nancy! Tell them to stop!" Liza looked over to the girl but Nancy refused to look at her. "Nancy!"
"I'm so sorry, Liza. I know she's like your sister." Nancy whispered. The brunette looked back to Steve, his face was heartbroken as he stared at his girlfriend.
Steve had never seen Liza like this. He didn't know what to expect when they told her, he thought she would maybe shut down, to fall into a puddle of tears. He had seen her upset, he had seen her when she was having panic attacks and he could handle those but this. . . this was on a whole other level.
The noise that left Liza was a combination of a sob and a scream, grief ripping at her vocal chords like claws. The sound made the group jump, it pierced through their bodies in a way they didn't know possible. Liza looked feral, she felt feral. She was shaking, her eyes were wide and manic and when people reached out to her, she flinched away. Tears streamed down her face as she realised she had lost Max. She hadn't been able to save her sister.
Dustin clutched onto Eddie, the pair of them felt useless as they watched Liza pick something up and chuck it against the wall. Robin wanted to wrap her arms around the blonde, hold her as she cried it out but she knew that she wouldn't be able to get close enough and she risked Liza lashing out at her if she did. Nancy refused to look at Liza, because if she did she would see the heartbreak and that would ruin her.
Steve was the only one who tried to get close, who kept trying to reach out to Liza even as she flinched away. He was bound and determined to get her in his arms, if not to comfort her than to restrain her. At this point she was becoming a danger to herself with the way she was reacting. He couldn't trust that the girl would be smart enough in this state to not go back to the Upside Down and rip Vecna apart with her bare hands.
