Hidden Within the Shadows

prepare for war

"Jesus, fuck, it's good to see you," Natalia said, bringing Adrian into a bone-crushing hug.

They'd made it to the War Zone, and were hidden in the alley of two buildings. The others were patiently waiting inside the RV, giving Adrian space to try and get the others to believe him. It was weird, like the different parts of his life were colliding. It was like a bad trip

"Ow, thanks, I think. Get off, you're going to kill me," he said, managing to finally break free. They were right there in front of him, varying looks of worry on their faces. Well, he had to get straight to the point. "Everything is fine - no, it's not. Uh, the world may end soon due to some asshole with a tattoo like mine, and we're going to go to the different dimension he's in to kill him. Oh, and I have mind powers,"

Natalia, Marta and Carner stared at him incredulously. "What the fuck kind of drugs have you been on?"

"Fuck off, for once I'm being serious," he said, feeling like a petulant child being told off. Sighing a little, Adrian pulled his sleeve up, the 020 visible against his pale skin. "I didn't get this one done for shits and giggles,"

Natalia kept her eyes on him, unwavering. "Show us some of your fancy powers then,"

Adrian rolled his eyes, then turned around and looked at the RV, hand outstretched. It rose off the ground for a brief moment before it settled back down. "I can also make you see things and find people with just a picture."

Carner reached out and wiped the blood from Adrian's face, ignoring how he jerked back a little. "Say it's real," they said, looking at Adrian like they'd never seen him before. "How are we going to kill the asshole?"

"That's a lot more complicated to explain,"

Marta snorted. "Explaining how you have superpowers that you hid from us is easier to explain than how we're going to kill someone?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, kinda. He's in another dimension. Uh, how's about I get Dustin to explain it to you," he said, raising his voice at Dustin's name. The boy stumbled out of the RV, and Nancy and the others followed after him.

"Hi!" Dustin said brightly. He stepped forwards and proceeded to explain Vecna and the Upside Down, making it sound quite like D&D.

"Uh, Eddie's hanging back in the RV," Steve said as he came and stood next to Adrian. "These are the people who took you in?"

Adrian nodded. "They're cool. They dealt with my shit for a few years. And Marta's good at forgery and faked me a new ID and paperwork. Gimme a minute to talk to Eddie," he said, and Steve nodded, something like understanding in his eyes. Adrian moved back and went into the RV, glad that they were out of sight.

Eddie was sitting on the floor, underneath the table. Adrian shut the door behind him and settled down on the floor, back against a cupboard.

"Y'alright?" he asked, knocking his foot against Eddie's. Eddie nodded, hand going to his hair to put it in front of his mouth. "We won't be long out there, in and out and get the shit we need. Then we'll be right back,"

Eddie nodded, resting his head against the leg of the table. "I know. I just ... then we're gonna have to take on Vecna, and-and I'm terrified that we're not gonna win," he admitted, hands wrung together, anxieties playing out on his face. "But I know we have you and that girl, El, with us. But I'm terrified that maybe it's not enough,"

"It will be. If not, we can weaken him, and regroup. Find others to help us. Take him the fuck down. Think of it like - like a live-action D&D session," he said, and Eddie scoffed a little, mouth downturned. "I know, not ideal. But it's ... it's better than having to really deal with the fact that there's an alternate dimension and some dickhead is trying to take over the world because he's got issues. I mean, look at us, we have issues but we're not hell-bent on world domination."