KAS The Bloody Handed

Repressed Memories

Eddie's POV

Eddie had never felt so nervous in his life. Knowing that he was inside his own head, about to relive his own memories with El. He felt comfortable enough with El... but he didn't truly know her. Why was his brain such a mess? He couldn't piece together much of anything. He remembered dying... with Dustin by his side... then he remembered waking up and being with Y/N and their friends, then being with Vecna... but everything was so jumbled. Maybe it was a good thing he was about to relive his memories... maybe it would help piece together his messed up life.
He was sat next to Eleven watching what he can only describe as a movie.. starring himself and Vecna. It was a very odd feeling being on the outside looking in... at yourself. He watched as 'memory Eddie' swore his allegiance to Vecna and promised not to fail again, that he would bring back El's corpse and those of her friends too. What?! Why would he say that? He looked at El apologetically and she squeezed his hand, telling him it was ok.
The scene before him twisted and turned, yet the only thing that changed was Vecnas position in the room. He was sat across from 'memory Eddie' and was speaking to him in a deep, booming tone. It was terrifying. How 'memory Eddie' wasn't scared was unbelievable. He wanted nothing more than to run away.
I didn't run away this time right? The words flitted through his head. Did he say that? When?
Eddie focused on the scene before him and listened as Vecna was telling him how to travel between the two worlds. Vecna placed his hand on top of 'memory Eddie's' head and explained that he was giving him more power to complete his mission.
"He's erasing your memories" whispered El.
Well, that makes sense... now he knows why he can't remember shit.
"He's not giving you any more power, he's using his power to control you more..." she explained.
I'm going to kill El first. Again, another thought flitted through his mind. He remembered being in a large, echoey room. He was full of anger, and he was there to kill El.
Ok, well that's awful. When he focused back to the present, it was just darkness. Vecna and 'memory Eddie' had disappeared. El had his hand in hers once more and they were walking. To where exactly? This black abyss seemed never ending. They walked for about a minute, until Eddie could see something in his peripheral vision.
"What's that over there?" He asked, pointing to the left of him.
"That's where we need to go next" El responded.
As they got closer, Eddie realised it was another memory. One he had also forgotten... but when the scene became clear he suddenly felt very uneasy. He may not remember what it was, but maybe he didn't want to.
"El I don't want to do this" he shakily insisted, tugging her hand in a different direction.
"I know, and I'm sorry. But we have to. We want to save you Eddie, but to save you, we need to understand what you've been through" she sympathetically asserted, pulling him back to the path they were taking.
The scene before him materialised. 'Memory Eddie' was running out of the Upside Down trailer, determination clear on his face. He was being chased by what looked like demon bats. Demobats his inside voice interjected. That's right. He felt overcome with dread... he remembered what came next.
"El, I don't want to watch myself die. I remember the feeling, do I really have to see it?" He questioned, his eyes pleading for them to stop.
"Don't watch if you don't want to, we're here for what happened after..." El replied, fixated on the scene before them. Eddie decided to skip his death. He remembered all too well. That was something he couldn't forget. He heard Dustin crying... and then silence. The absolute stillness is what made him look. He shouldn't have. What he saw would be engraved in his brain forever. His dead, dirty body, ripped to shreds, lay bloody and cold. Alone. Just left to rot. Well, it's not like the gang could've taken bits and pieces back with them huh. The scene didn't stay still for long. He watched as Vecna approached his dead body. He bent down low to inspect it.. paying a lot of attention to Eddie's left hand... or his watch. Did Vecna steal off a dead mans body? Eddie instantly felt dumb for thinking the question. Why would Vecna want his watch. He rubbed his arm unconsciously, feeling that his watch was still there, answering his silly thought.
He looked on as Vecna placed his creepy elongated fingers over dead Eddie's face. Can you take a dead mans soul? Did his soul automatically belong to him as he died in the Upside Down? Maybe he'll find out, but what unfolded was perhaps the weirdest, most gruesome thing he'd seen... and he was a huge horror fan. Dead Eddie's severed legs started twitching... and from his hips grew long, snake-like black vines. They slithered along the ground, searching, seeking out... until they reached the torso. Eddie watched on in repulsive captivation as his dead body stitched itself back together. Well, more like sucked itself back together. Once the disturbing vines reached his torso, they sucked in the bottom half of his body.
Eddie stepped closer to get a better look. It definitely looked like he'd been cut in half, but his body was mending. The snake like vines crawling all over his body.. binding flesh and renewing chunks that were missing. This is a real life horror show... starring me thought Eddie.
He glanced back at El and threw her a look to say 'what the hell' but she seemed just as dumbfounded. The scene faded, and then faded back in just as quickly. Like he had blinked. Vecna had gone and 'dead Eddie' lay still and quiet in the same spot he'd been eaten alive. El threw her hand out in front of her, obviously drawing on her powers. She fast forwarded the scene. Eddie wasn't sure how long had passed, it could've been hours, days, weeks. El stopped when there was sudden movement. 'Dead Eddie' was sitting up and rubbing his head. He started checking over his body, looking for wounds that no longer existed. His only words were "Dustin", which he shouted out once and got no response. He shook it off, as if what he had said confused him. "Master" he announced, much more confidently.
Eddie noticed the fangs in 'undead Eddie's' mouth, and the dark purple glow in his eyes.
It clicked again. He remembered. The scene faded to black and he looked at El.
"I'm evil" he whispered, not wanting to believe his own words, "I was brought back to kill you all".
El watched as Eddie placed his hand on his heart, checking for a heartbeat that wasn't there. It broke her heart.
"No. It may be the reason you were brought back, HE may be the reason you're here now.. but there's still some of our Eddie in there. You may not remember, but when you came to us the first time to kill me, your humanity stopped you. We were going to help you. It was a mistake to send you back to the Upside Down. Vecna erased everything. But I promise you Eddie, we will get your memories back... together" she insisted, ever so softly.
Eddie felt nothing but guilt, shame and sadness. Also anger, but at himself. He couldn't believe he'd allowed Vecna to control him... to use him as a puppet to kill his friends. HIS FRIENDS! Calm down. Anger only makes him do bad things. These memories were helping him piece together what happened recently, and if he had to keep digging deeper to find something... ANYTHING, that would stop him from hurting his friends, then deeper they would go.
His head hanging low, he held his hand out towards El.
"Bring on the next one, I hope it's nicer than what we've seen so far" he uttered hopelessly.