What's in the cellar, Henderson?

Chapter One: Surprise, They Live!

SPOILER WARNING
This fanfic contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 9, along with references to previous episodes and seasons.

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED ALL OF SEASON 4 AND DONT WANT SPOILERS, DONT READ

CW: death

This will be based around the Kas theory and an au where Max doesn't die (therefore not opening the big portal)

Third POV

Nothing had ever felt so loud and quiet at the same time. The only sounds were Max's heavy breathing, Lucas' panicked cries for help, and Erica rummaging through their bags for a radio to contact anyone for help. Lucas' ears were ringing, his face began to ache more as each second passed, his eyes burned from crying, but he kept Max in his arms.

"Please Max, stay with me please. We're gonna get you to a hospital I promise." He sobbed loudly, looking down at her now pale eyes through his tears.

"I'm not ready to die." Max choked out again, wishing she could hold onto Lucas but her arms wouldn't move. Everything in her body burned, it was a pain greater than anything she had ever felt before.

"I won't let you die, you can't die."

Erica ran back up to the attic, barely able to catch her breath as she panted, "ambulance is coming!" She said before sitting, her hands shaking and thoughts racing. Her brothers ex-girlfriend was going to die any second now and she couldn't do anything but call for an ambulance. But that was better than doing nothing.

She looked over to Lucas, she had never seen her big brother cry so much. Erica never saw him so vulnerable and terrified, well maybe when the Mind Flayer attacked but this was completely different. 

"Help is coming, Max, stay with me please." Lucas stayed there on the floor holding Max as they anxiously waited for the ambulance to arrive.

It felt like they had to wait years, decades even, for help to finally get there. With every passing second Max seemed to slip away a little more, scaring Lucas and Erica more and more. Somehow though, the EMT got to them right before Max could get any worse. Of course they had to also help Jason, but that isn't the point.

As Max is rushed to the hospital with Lucas and Erica, Dustin is being dragged away from Eddie's lifeless body by Nancy. 

"NO NO PLEASE WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!!!" Dustin cried out, trying to pull himself away from Nancy to get back to Eddie. He knew he was dead but knew that leaving him there would make it so much realer.

"..Robin, we can help Eddie right? We can get him to a hospital?" Steve was on his knees, staring at the now deceased Edward Munson. 

"Steve, I won't lie to you, he's... Eddie's gone, and we need leave before these bats wake up," Robin did her best to talk slowly and not go on about the fact that Eddie's corpse is laying in front of them. She looked up to Nancy with a worried expression, "right Nancy?"

"Yes, we need to go now Steve. Help me with Dustin and let's get the out. We can't risk getting attacked by the bats, not when there's this many." Normally Nancy was more stern, but this time she was softer. It was odd, but even she couldn't act like everything was okay now despite defeating Vecna.

Steve closed his eyes and took a shakey breath before getting up and going to Dustin with open arms, "come on Henderson, it's too dangerous to stay here."

Dustin hugged Steve tightly and sobbed into his arm, "Eddie saved us."

"I know, Dustin, I know. We'll make sure everyone knows he's a hero." Steve choked out, holding back tears as he hugged Dustin back.

They gathered their things and headed to the closest portal, that being in the Munson's trailer. The wak was quiet and dragged on forever. Even after their victory, Nancy, Robin, Steve, and Dustin felt the crushing weight of losing Eddie. Steve and Dustin felt it more than Robin and Nancy but it was still there for all of them.

Each step began to get more painful for Dustin but he kept quiet, still thinking about watching Eddie die in his arms. How will he just go back to school, back to Hellfire, like he didn't watch his friend die? How will he tell Eddie's uncle or the other guys in Hellfire? How will he prove Eddie's innocence? Will he even be able to?

Every thought only overwhelmed Dustin more, and all he wished for was to live in a normal place where he didn't have to help save the world once a year. Maybe then he could be with Susie without keeping things from her, maybe then him and his friends wouldn't be riddled with trauma and horrible nightmares, maybe then Eddie would still be alive.

"Hey," Steve put his hand on Dustin's head, pulling him out of his spiraling thoughts, "we're here. Nance is going in first then I'll help you up."

"Can you help me get something first?" Dustin asked, not looking up to make eye contact with Steve.

Steve wanted to argue, to say no I'm not letting you get hurt any worse than this but he couldn't. Sighing, Steve pushed his hair back and gave Robin a stall for me glance then looked down at Dustin, "alright, but we got five minutes."

"What- Steve! We have to go-" Nancy was quickly cut off by Robin starting to talk about how terrifying bats are and rabies and how it's her number one fear. As Robin rambled on, Steve followed Dustin out the door.

"Up there," Dustin pointed to the roof, "Eddie's guitar. I want to take it with us."

"Alright, but I'm gonna borrow it sometimes." Steve said before climbing up to the roof. He picked up Eddie's guitar and disconnected it from the speakers. For a moment he stared at it in his hands, wondering how many hours Eddie spent learning each chord, perfecting cover songs, making his own.

"I told you not to be a hero." Steve whispered, his grasp tightening on the guitar then letting go to give to Dustin. Hesitantly, he climbed down. He didn't know why ne hesitated, maybe going back to he real world would make Eddie's death too real.

"Now let's head back so we can meet with Max, Lucas, and Erica. We need to make sure Max is okay." Steve said as he walked back inside with Dustin following.

"Jesus Christ, Steve, hurry up and let's go!" Nancy groaned, already beginning to pull herself up after remaking their makeshift rope back to the surface.

"Alright alright calm down." Steve mumbled, stopping to help Dustin up into the opening once Nancy was through and ready to help him.

Once they were all through, with their weapons and Eddie's guitar, the portal began to slowly close. Maybe it was because Vecna was now gone or maybe Eleven was closing them while thousands of miles away.

But something still felt wrong, of course it did with Eddie being dead...but was s he really still dead?

His heart stopped beating, he stopped breathing, stopped moving, stopped living. Dustin, Steve, Nancy, and Robin all saw his corpse. They saw his lifeless eyes, they felt his cold body. He had to be dead.

But maybe if they had stayed awhile longer they would have seen him gasp for air, cry in pain as wings sprouted from his back and fangs grew into his mouth. Maybe they would have seen his gruesome transformation into a creature of the Upside Down.

Maybe they would have seen that he is alive again.