KAS The Bloody Handed

Master Of Puppets

Eddie's / El's   POV

"Eddie, you don't have to do this! You are not his puppet, you can fight this. Let us help you!" El nervously rambled as Eddie started stalking towards her.
"Oh but I do.. unfortunately, I am him and he is me, there is no difference" he explained. Eddie was hovering over El, his 'Vecna' hand extended towards her face. He grimaced slightly as he looked at his hand.. it never failed to make him feel slightly unwell. Just as Eddie started sucking the life and soul out of El, a slight crunching sound made him pause.
His superhuman hearing allowed him to clearly listen in on anything within a 2 mile radius. The crunch of twigs being snapped in half had his attention. Then came the voices..
"...looking for hours, my feet hurt"
He knew that voice. It was Robin. Her voice was shortly followed by Dustins, telling her that they were nearly there. He could hear the footsteps.. they were all coming... including Y/N. A quick pang in his heart reminded him of a feeling he once knew... guilt? No. He won't allow it. Brushing the thought off, he quickly sprang into action. Before El could even blink he had her feet untied and was out the door. His senses told him that the gang were 10 steps away from finding them, but it was ok, he's so incredibly fast now that they wouldn't see him anyway.
El felt dizzy.. she wasn't sure what happened, but when she opened her eyes she was looking up at Eddie's face. It felt as if they were floating, but all around her was blurry.. she couldn't make out where she was.
"Eddie? Am I dead?" She asked. A quiet calm came over her as she accepted death so quickly. She didn't think it would be this painless.
Eddie let out a guttural laugh.
"No El, you're not dead. Death would be easier than what's in store for you" a small smirk appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He ran ever so quickly and quietly through the forest for what felt like forever.. until he came across an old abandoned warehouse at the edge of Hawkins. He had an untold amount of Nylon rope in his pockets, which he used to tie El to a nearby tree so he could go and check out the warehouse. He bound El's mouth too so that no passer-bys could come across her. It would only take him about 20 seconds to check out every inch of that building, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
El looked up at him pleadingly, but it had no effect. He felt nothing but stress.. he wanted this over and done with quickly so that he could get out of Hawkins.. get away from Y/N. He zoomed around the warehouse in less than 20 seconds, and found the perfect spot to resume his task. He started making his way back out towards El, but what he found made his blood ran cold. She was gone. How? He'd been gone for no more than 15 seconds. He bound her tightly. She didn't have her powers. It didn't make any sense.
Zoning into his super senses, he found her. He could hear her running, about 50 feet from where he stood. Gotcha! His predatory instincts kicked in and his fangs started salivating. He caught up to her within a second and scooped her up effortlessly like she weighed no more than a feather. El let out a little squeak. It took all he had to not bury his fangs deep into her neck. Stop. This is not the way HE wants it done.

The Warehouse

El was tied up again, much more rope used this time. Eddie had found an old stained, torn up mattress and placed El on top. Why he done this he didn't know.. did he feel bad? He could've just placed her on the cold hard floor. He needed to get this over with quickly.
"Eddie, please! Let's fight this together! Release me, give me my powers, and let me try to release you from Vecnas hold. I know there's still a part of you in there" El pleaded.
"Shut up! I'm thinking" Eddie angrily shouted back, making her flinch.
El felt so hopeless, powerless. She was nothing but a small, fragile human without her powers to help her. She kept thinking over and over in her head... How can she convince him? She was sure she could help him..
Eddie also sat thinking.. could he help her? Did he want her help? He was bound to Vecna, bound to do his bidding.. he was evil, but there was a part of him... a very small part that held hope. He had been so used to squashing down this 'human' remain of him that it felt unusual to let it surface.
"How could you help me?" Questioned Eddie.
Yes! This was it! Els thoughts came rushing at her as she tried to think of ways to convince him.
"You know that I'm stronger than Vecna. I may not have killed him but I've defeated him twice. With your new power, together I'm sure we could actually get rid of him.. for good this time!" She said excitedly.
Eddie felt like that wasn't good enough. He knew that if she killed Vecna, he would die too. He was bound, he was only walking and talking because he was Vecnas puppet. He had no beating heart.. it was pure power that made Eddie 'unalive'.
"You kill HIM, you kill me. I am but an extension of him. I am not alive El." Eddie's shoulders dropped in defeat. How dumb of him to even entertain the idea that he could be saved.
"Then we will find a way to save you before we kill him! I'm not sure how, but if we work together. If we get the gang together, we WILL work this out Eddie. Give you your old life back.. Y/N back... I promise" she replied quietly.
"How do I know that once I release that device you won't just turn on me?" Anger rose to the surface as he realised that this could all just be a trick.
"I promise you Eddie. I know you don't know me. But I love my friends. I would never do that to Dustin or Y/N. Friends don't lie."
And there it was... those three words that he needed to hear. Y/N and the gang had always said that those three words were like a pinky promise. Like a blood bind.. unbreakable. Those three words pierced his cold heart and he glanced over at El. More guilt than he'd ever felt since coming back flooded him.. and that's when he knew. There was some humanity left. And if there was any chance that he could be released, could LIVE again, then he would take that chance.
He left El tied up, but released the device around her neck.. taking a huge risk. What's the worst that could happen? She killed him and he was no longer able to hurt his friends.. or she did what she said she would.. and help him.
The flood of powers consumed El as she felt them all come rushing back to her. She used them to break free of her ties. As she sat rubbing her wrists, she peeked over at Eddie. He looked so sad.. like he was having a mental battle within himself. She knew that look oh too well. It's exactly how Will and Billy looked when Vecna had a hold on them. But this seemed different, Vecna wasn't present. Eddie said he was an 'extension' of him. This meant they had a chance.
El beckoned for Eddie to come to her. He sat down next to her, head in his hands.
"Eddie, I want to try something.. do you trust me?" She asked.
He nodded in agreement. With that, El placed her hands on either side of his head. She was so used to going into peoples minds, but she was going to try something new. She was going to allow Eddie glimpses of her memories. She flooded his mind with memories of the past, laughing and joking with friends. Battles with Vecna. Eddie's funeral. Everyone's grief over losing one of their best friends. Y/N moving through life sluggishly, like the life had been taken from her. The excited glint in Y/N's eyes when she believed Eddie was back.
"Wh-what is this? Why are you showing me this?" He whispered.
"We need to keep your human nature surfaced, if you get angry again, or Vecnas hold becomes stronger.." she left the sentence unfinished.
He understood. A flood of emotions were fighting against each other inside of his mind. Happy. Sad. Excited. Unsettled. Worry. He had no idea what was going to happen.. but he was willing to try. And if that meant letting El keep his human emotions present, then he would allow that too.
One memory kept replaying over and over - Y/N at his funeral. Broken, lost, lifeless. It hurt him deeply. He couldn't imagine ever bringing someone that much pain. He had to try... and try he would.
The Master of Puppets will be defeated once more... but this time for good.