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Just when they thought this was all over, of course El tells them that the Upside Down is still active, and Vecna is still working to destroy them. It had been about four months since they’d last dealt with everything, and frankly, Steve was getting tired of this shit. So was everyone else, but Steve was especially over it. First, Barb died in his pool, then, he and the kids almost became demodog chow, then, Billy nearly died right in front of them, and after that, Eddie actually did die right in front of them. It was just becoming too much, and he didn’t want to have to keep doing this for the rest of his life. He couldn’t stand to keep losing people, but until it was finished for good, he knew he’d come back to join the fight. At least if he did, he could try to keep the others safe.
And now it was time for another mission. With the rift in the ground that the earthquake had left still gaping open in the streets, it wasn’t hard for the team to slip down into the Upside Down and do some recon. Tonight, it was Steve and Billy’s turn. Though Billy had been reluctant to leave Max’s side ever since she got hurt last time, these weekly missions were an exception. It got him out of the hospital for a while and it was an excuse to spend time with Steve, which he hadn’t been able to do much since this all started again. It was kind of hard to go down there, though. Not only was it very likely that they could die down there, but it was also a constant reminder of who did.
They had kept it under wraps before all this had started, for obvious reasons, but now, the secret didn’t feel as big and life shattering as it had in the spring of 1985. Back then, if anybody had heard even a whisper that former King Steve and current King Billy were not only involved with each other, but also involved with Eddie “The Freak” Munson, their entire lives would have come to a crashing halt. They’d not only be social outcasts at school and around town, but they’d have painted targets on their own backs that could have life-threatening consequences in such a small town. All of that seemed irrelevant now, though, especially since now, one of them was gone. If they thought it was hard trying to live their lives in secret, they had no idea how hard it would be to have to grieve in secret, too. It nearly tore Billy and Steve apart, but after a while, they decided it was better to be miserable together than be miserable apart. And now, when they went on their recon missions, they’d talk the whole time, trying to replace the bad memories with good ones.
The past couple of times, though, it was different. They didn’t talk nearly as much, and it felt almost as if they were being watched. That feeling typically arose when they were down there, but the past few times, it had been a lot more intense. They asked the rest of the team if they’d felt it, and some of them did, but not all, so they figured they were just being paranoid. Still, it gave them an uneasy feeling, and they were both dreading slipping down through the cracks again to do their mission, but they knew they didn’t have a choice.
Armed with flashlights, radios and their weapons of choice, they prepared themselves for the head rush of falling into the Upside Down, and finally, they dropped through. The stench of the place never got old, and not in a good way. It was like walking into a morgue on a hot summer day after a power outage. It always gave Billy a headache, and Steve always tried to chew cinnamon gum when they came down to try and combat the attack on his senses.
“Recon to base, check in. Do you copy?” Steve asked into the walkie, and waited to hear Dustin answer.
“Base to recon, we copy. Carry on, over,” he said, letting them know that they could start moving. It wasn’t foolproof, but it set Steve’s mind a bit more at ease to know that they could call for help should they need it. And with that, they started into the wasteland.
“Where should we start?” Billy asked as they started to walk. Really, these missions were kind of silly. All they really did on them was wander around and hope to find where Vecna was hiding out, but they knew he wasn’t going to make it easy on them.
“I don’t know, where haven’t we looked yet?” Steve asked, trying to remember the map Hopper had set up in the police station. It had all the main landmarks in Hawkins on it, and each time a recon team checked out a place, they’d cross it off the map. They were running out of major landmarks to check, though, and they hadn’t found Vecna’s lair yet.
“Well, we checked the city hall last time,” Billy said, shrugging. “Let’s try the school.”
“Okay. Let’s get a move on, though, I’m getting kinda nervous.”
“We just started and you’re getting nervous already? You’re such a wuss,” Billy teased, trying to lighten the mood, though he wasn’t exactly comfortable, either.
It didn’t take them long to reach the school, nor did it take long for Billy to use his hatchet to break down the nasty, decaying doors so they could get inside. He was careful to avoid hitting any of the weird vines directly, so as not to disturb the hive mind and let them know they were there, but as soon as they stepped through the opening he had made, it felt like it didn’t matter. The hair on the back of their necks stood up, and they shared a look before they continued on. Something just felt… off.
“You can feel that, right?” Billy whispered, and Steve nodded.
“Yeah, it feels like we’re being watched again,” he said, “I don’t know what it is.”
“Me either,” Billy said, “But the quicker we go through the place, the quicker we can leave. Let’s go.”
But as they wandered the halls, the feeling fluctuated. It was odd, when they turned down some hallways, it waned a little, but then turning down another would make it more intense. It was like whatever was watching them was trying to lead them somewhere, but they didn’t know if it was a trap or not, so they didn’t follow it. Finally, they had checked every room in the school, except the cafeteria, and though they were kind of scared, they followed the feeling to the doors of the space and peered inside.
There was nothing there but a big empty room. Vines were growing up the walls and around the stage, and they couldn’t see towards the kitchen from their vantage point, but so far, nothing major was off, so they took a few tentative steps inside. The feeling was near unbearable at this point, but they tried to shrug it off. They just had to check the kitchen, and then they could leave.
They went into the kitchen and looked around, checking all the nooks and crannies and even the walk-in freezer before finally deciding that they had looked enough. There was nothing in the school, so they could head back to the real world now and let the team know. They were just about to radio to Dustin that they were coming back, but as they stepped back through the kitchen doors, they stopped short.
It was impossible. There was no way this could be real. Steve almost choked, and Billy was frozen still. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing in front of them. It was a figure, but it wasn’t Vecna. It was ragged looking, in torn clothes that were stained with dirt and dried blood, and its hair was unkempt and matted. It was covered in scars and pale as anything, but its eyes were glowing red. That was what they had noticed first, and it had shaken them to their core, but then they looked at the rest of it, and they realized they knew it. It was Eddie. Except, it wasn’t.
“Why have you come here?” It asked in a cold, raspy voice, staring directly at them, into their souls. When they didn’t respond, it took a step closer, and they both gripped their weapons a little tighter.
“Eddie?” Steve finally squeaked out, his heart aching as he felt the weight of his bat in his hands. He didn’t want to have to use it, but if it came down to it, he knew he would.
“No,” it said, like it was stating a fact, but for the first time since they saw it, it glanced away from them. It was only for a split second, but they definitely noticed. That’s when Billy knew. He’d been in that position before, and it nearly killed him.
“I don’t understand,” Steve said, “You’re Eddie. Why don’t you know that?”
“I’m not,” it said, taking another step closer.
“That’s right, you’re not,” Billy said, his pulse racing as he, too, took a step. “Not right now you’re not. You’re… something else.”
“Bill, what-” Steve tried.
“He’s not himself right now, Steve,” Billy said, “Right now, he’s a pawn. He’s being used. His mind isn’t his, he’s being controlled.”
“I’m not,” it stated, one again flippantly, like it was just a fact.
“You are. I know you are,” Billy said, finally getting close enough to reach out to it. “Just like I know you’re still in there, somewhere. We just have to reach you. You know that, too. That’s why you’ve been following us the past few weeks, isn’t it? You know us, but you don’t know how.”
“No,” it said, shuffling back a bit when Billy got close enough to touch.
“It makes sense now. That’s why the boys and Erica could feel it, too. Because you knew them,” Billy said, and he glanced back at Steve, who was starting to come closer now, too.
“You really don’t know who you are, huh?” Steve asked it, but it didn’t react, like it didn’t understand the question. “Do you really think we can get through to him?”
“We’ve done it before, right?” Billy said, holding eye contact so it couldn’t scurry away.
“Yeah, but before we had Eleven and we figured out the walkman thing, we don’t have them now,” Steve said.
“All El did was make me remember who I was. That’s all we have to do now, make him remember.”
The figure looked like it was about to start running, it looked afraid. It jumped a little when Steve shoe squeaked on the floor, and it almost flinched away when Billy reached out to touch it. He just put his hand on its arm, but it looked like a frightened animal, ready to either fight or flee. They had to work fast if they wanted any chance to get through to Eddie.
“You loved Metallica, and could play almost all their songs on guitar,” Billy started, “You called your guitar your sweetheart. Sometimes I’d swear you loved that thing more than us.”
“You loved to play D&D with the kids, and your friends. Every spare second you had was spent writing down notes for your next game,” Steve continued, “You made it hard for them, and showed no mercy, but you told us that all you really cared about was that everyone had as much fun as you did.”
“And you didn’t let anyone give you shit. Everyone in town thought you were a freak and they hated you for being different, but you never gave them the time of day. You turned it around on them and made them look like idiots for being stereotypes. You didn’t care about any of them until Chrissy died and they blamed you for it,” Billy said, and Steve gave him a look as the figure started to shake a little.
“Did you have to tell him that?” Steve hissed, but Billy didn’t turn to look at him.
“Yeah, I did. He has to remember the bad things, too, or else it won’t work. That’s how it worked with me. He has to remember everything about himself, or else he might not remember at all.”
“I’m not remembering,” it said, its voice shaking a tiny bit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You will,” Billy said, “You will if we have to tell you your entire life story from beginning to end.”
“I won’t,” it said, but they weren’t going to give up.
“Your name is Edward Patrick George Munson,” Steve said, taking the cue. “You had a little sister and a mom, but they both died, and your dad went to jail when you were ten. Then you went to live with your Uncle Wayne.”
The air around them was starting to feel thick, like sludge, when trying to breathe in. The figure was shaking still, its eyes darting around like it was trying to find a way out, but it couldn’t. It started shaking its head a little, like it was trying to resist, and they knew what they were doing must be working. They kept going.
“Wayne took care of you the best he could and gave you as good a life as possible. You weren’t rich, but you got by, and you were loved. You started going to school in town and met your bandmates, and your first gig was the middle school talent show,” Steve said, “Even though you hated school. You were so smart, but you wouldn’t listen to the teachers, so they’d give you a hard time. You had to retake a few years, but you were finally on track to graduate this time. You were determined to finish, and you were going to.”
The ground started trembling a bit underneath them, like there was a shift in the earth. The figure was shaking its head harder now, moving its hands up to massage its temples, like it had a bad headache. It was still trying to turn away, but wherever it moved, Billy and Steve followed. It was breathing heavier now, and it was still shaking.
“You were a small-time dealer to earn extra money, which is how you got to know us,” Billy went on. “We didn’t get along at first, none of us did, but you wore us down over time because you wouldn’t give up. You were funny, and even though I was trying to be tough, you made me laugh with your antics. It seemed like you’d do anything for a laugh. And finally, you got me to like you. You even got me to start liking him, and I hated him when I first came to town. You were what brought us together.”
“You made us feel safe enough to be ourselves with you, and with each other. You always made us feel safe,” Steve kept going, “And you made us feel like it was okay to be different, too. You made us feel… loved.”
Outside the dirty windows, lightning was flashing, more and more frequently, and as the figure shook, it finally stopped pacing around. It fell to its knees and continued to grip its head, trying hard to get its breath, its whole body heaving as it sucked in air.
“Nobody knew you like we did, so when Chrissy’s body was found in your trailer, everyone assumed you had killed her. They were looking for a reason to run you out of town, and then they had one, so you had to hide. You were scared, and hurting, but you still only tried to help. And when it came down to it, you sacrificed yourself so that we could all get out alive,” Billy said, “You were our hero.”
Thunder boomed outside the windows, shaking the whole building, as the figure curled up into a ball on the floor and screeched like a bat out of Hell. It seemed to collapse for a minute, and they thought it was dead, but then it started breathing again. And then, it was screaming for an entirely different reason, as a vine wrapped itself around its ankle, and began to pull. It finally looked up as it was being pulled back, screaming, and Billy and Steve readied their weapons. They attacked the vines as they tried to get to the figure, hacking away at them until they recoiled and retreated.
When the first wave was done, they knew another wave wouldn’t be far behind, and they knew they had to get out as soon as they could. They didn’t have much time, and as they got the last vine to back off, they glanced back at the figure. Only it wasn’t just a figure anymore. It was still scarred, dirty and frightened, but its eyes weren’t glowing anymore, and it wasn’t shaking. It was Eddie.
“Wh-what’s happening?” He asked, stumbling as he tried to stand up. “Where’s Henderson? Did the diversion work?”
“No time to explain now, can you walk?” Steve said, rushing over to help steady him.
“I think so,” he said, but he stumbled again, and Billy came over, too, holding up his other side.
“C’mon, we’ll help you, but we gotta go now, before the next wave hits,” he said, grabbing the radio from Steve’s pocket before they started to walk. “Recon to base, we’re coming back, and we’ll need some help. We found something, over.”
“Base to recon, we copy. Someone will meet you at the extraction point. Over and out,” they heard back, but it was over a lot of static. The next wave was coming.
They had to half drag Eddie with them, so it took longer than they would have liked, but finally, they got to where they had started. Steve went back through first, taking a deep breath as he climbed through the portal, his head rushing as he went topside. Billy followed shortly after, just as Hopper and Dustin pulled up in the police cruiser.
“We got your message. You found Vecna’s lair?” Dustin asked as he ran over, Hop following close behind.
“No, something else,” Steve said, turning back to the open gateway and reaching back in, Billy doing the same.
“So you called out for back up because…?” Hopper asked, looking vaguely annoyed, but the scowl was wiped off his face as Steve and Billy braced themselves and pulled, and before their eyes, two arms emerged from the crack, followed by a head, torso, and finally, a pair of legs.
“Holy shit…” Hop muttered, but nobody heard it over Dustin, who screamed out Eddie’s name as he ran towards him, hugging him tightly.
“We thought you were dead!” He exclaimed, his voice muffled by Eddie’s shirt.
“What? Why? I was only gone for, like, two minutes,” Eddie said, but he hugged Dustin back.
“You were gone for four months!” Dustin said, looking at Eddie like he was nuts.
“What?!” Eddie nearly shrieked, his head whipping over to Steve and Billy.
“It’s a long story,” Billy said, holding out his hand, “C’mon, you need to go to the hospital to make sure you’re okay. We’ll explain on the way.”
Eddie took his hand and allowed himself to be led over to the cruiser, where he climbed in the back seat with him and Steve. Dustin and Hop sat up front, and as they started to drive, he felt his eyes struggling to stay open. Billy hadn’t let go of his hand since they got in the car, and Steve had grabbed his other one when he climbed in, and while he didn’t understand why they were suddenly so open about the gesture where before they’d been sure to keep it hidden, he didn’t mind it. It felt nice to have them showing affection, even in the presence of others, and it made him feel safe, and content.
He tried to listen as Dustin continued to rattle off the story of what had happened in the past four months, but his voice started sounding far away, until he could only make out a few words every now and again, so he just stopped listening. He closed his eyes and drifted off, his hands losing their grip, but Steve and Billy never let go.