KAS The Bloody Handed

It's Not Over

Your POV

The mood when you woke up was a weird one. There was an awkward atmosphere as most of your friends were feeling worried, scared.. well, a bit of everything really. You woke up with a smile on your face, wrapped in Eddie's arms. He glanced down at you and gave you that cheeky smirk. It was like you were both in on a secret... but truly, it was just love. This is what love is. Then suddenly, the crushing reality of today hit you like a truck. You could feel the panic starting to set in as you stared at Eddie.
"Try not to worry Y/N, you need to look after Max..." he comforted.
"But... no, I know you're right... but, god I don't even know. I don't know what to say Eddie" you exasperate, frustrated at yourself. He stroked your face endearingly, trying to soothe the panic... but it didn't work. This truly could be the last time you would see him.
"Wakey wakey!" Came an urgent voice from the top of the stairs. Hopper. "It's go time" he stated.
Nobody rushed. No one wanted to jump up and set off... it was a sad morning. A morning full of 'what ifs', a morning full of regrets. Hopper and Wayne stomped down the stairs, trays of food in hand.
"Need a full stomach to go into battle" Wayne smirked at everyone trying to lighten the mood. You all sat and ate in silence. There was nothing that could be said that would help.
"Y/N, Lucas, here's some emergency numbers in case anything happens with Max" Hopper handed you a piece of paper with four numbers on it, "they know everything and know what to do if I'm not here". You took the piece of paper and nodded at Hopper.
"Robin, and you three" Hopper pointed at Mike, Will and Dustin, "you're coming with us to the Warehouse. We need you stationed there guarding the gate. If anything comes through, you kill it. If anyone or anything tries to get in the Warehouse, you kill it." He commanded.
"Yes, Sir!" Responded Mike and Dustin.
"Well... looks like we're all set. Let's go" Hopper hoisted up his belt, patted Eddie on the back and headed for the door.
"See you on the other side" Smiled Eddie, "forever and always". He kissed your forehead, and let his lips linger longer. You sighed as he pulled away and a single tear fell from your eye. Until we meet again, my love. You stared after him as the group left the house. You probably stood there staring long after they'd left your line of sight. Lucas dragged you back to reality by asking if you'd like to play some cards to pass the time. It was the last thing you wanted to do.. but you agreed anyway. Anything to take your mind off the current situation.
"So we have half the deck each, and we place a card down, on top of the other, one at a time. If the same card appears, that is a snap" Lucas explained as he started dealing the cards out between you. You weren't really listening though. You felt numb, and you had a feeling that the numbness wouldn't go away until Eddie was back in your arms... IF he came back.

Eddie's POV

Eddie left the wheelers house feeling a bit overwhelmed. His emotions were all over the place. On one hand he was kind of excited to go and face down and maybe defeat that monster.. the thought of killing that beast brought him such an adrenaline rush.. but on the other hand he couldn't bare to leave Y/N. She looked fragile, like she would fall apart at any moment. Eddie hated that she felt that way - why would HE have such a hold over someone's emotions? It wasn't right. He was the reason she felt like that. Admittedly, he felt the exact same. If Y/N was headed off and there was a possibility that she might not return.. yeah.. that would definitely break him too.
He looked at the people surrounding him.. the ones who loved him. His Uncle Wayne who had never given up on him. His friends that were always there for him... even when he was set out to kill them.. they still tried. And even Hopper, who didn't even bat an eyelid when he was told about Eddie. This... this right here was family, and Eddie had never felt so at home. All his life, being labelled the freak.. not ever really belonging, and finally, when he finally felt like he belonged.. well it might not even last. Typical.
Eddie was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realise they were outside of the Warehouse. That was quick. Hopper and Wayne took the lead of course, with the rest of the gang following closely behind. There were no creatures to be seen - Vecna really had run away. They walked into the big open room and sure enough, there was the remnants of the gate in the centre of the floor. It looked like a long, charred crack in the floor. He watched in fascination as El held out her hand and drew upon her power. A trickle of blood fell over her lips as the gate started to open.
"I might need some help" she strained, glancing between Eddie and Kali. They both stepped forward and thrust their hands towards the gate. Slowly but surely, it spread wide open.
"Let's go" Hopper demanded, and one by one they all jumped through. There were no creatures waiting for them on the other side, which made their exit from the warehouse easy. Hopper didn't think Vecna would be in his usual spot... he thought he'd be hiding somewhere whilst trying to formulate a plan, but they had to start somewhere.
They headed towards the Creels house with absolute freedom; no demogorgans, no demobats, no demo dogs. This made Eddie feel slightly uneasy and on edge... what was Vecna up to? Maybe he hadn't come back here at all. They arrived at the Creels house in very little time and ran straight for the attic, but as Hopper had already thought; Vecna wasn't there, but Max still was.
"Hi guys!" She waved at everyone, "I don't know where he is; he didn't come back here.. but he's definitely here somewhere... and he's, confused... worried maybe?".
"Right, let's go on a monster hunt" Hopper firmly said. El gave Max a final hug as she told her that as soon as the fight was over, she was going to figure out how to rescue her. Max just smiled and nodded, not fully believing what she was being told, but as she glanced at Eddie there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. The group stayed very close to each other as they searched around the Upside Down equivalent of Hawkins. A few loose creatures were seen running around but they didn't bother anyone... in fact it seemed that they purposefully stayed away. The team had been walking and searching for around twenty minutes before anything significant happened.
"Kaaaaasss, come to meeee" Vecnas voice sounded weakly inside of Eddie's head. Eddie instantly built up a shield around his mind, concerned that he'd let Vecna penetrate it.
"Guys... I think I know where he is" Eddie stated. He started leading the group towards the woods... towards what looked like the big open clearing where the 'pre battle' happened. As everyone entered the clearing, Kali was the first to speak.
"I see him. He's over there!" She pointed towards the line of trees east of where everyone was standing. Eddie watched as he slowly walked out into the open, his arms spread wide either side of him.
"Come to me, my children!" Vecnas voice echoed all around, as a sudden wind picked up and a howling rattled the trees. The ground started to shake as if an earthquake was imminent... but it wasn't an earthquake. It was the biggest army of supernatural beings Eddie had ever seen. It just looked never ending as they swarmed around Vecna and he disappeared from sight.
"You're in my world now! You've seen nothing yet. It's not over until I say so." Vecna threatened. Everyone watched as the army that had come to serve him started melting at his feet. Red, pink, purple and black gelatinous blobs of goo started sticking to his body, making him bigger. He grew and grew until he reached above the tree line, his body distorting and changing form. Scales appeared in place of his tentacles, his feet turned into elongated, almost reptilian like claws. His face grew length ways and his eyes turned yellow. It was truly the most horrific thing Eddie had ever laid his eyes on. It really reminded him of a creature he felt like he already knew.
"Since when the hell could he turn into a Dragon? What is he... Maleficent now?!" Yelled Hopper. Ah... that was it. He looked like a dragon. How the hell were they gonna kill a dragon?!