𝘿𝙍𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 - Max Mayfield

49. Deal?

"You're what?!" Max couldn't believe what she was hearing and neither could anyone else in the room.

"Yeah" Aiden shook his head. "I was shocked too"

"You were actually once an experiment..." Dustin tried to piece the information together. "But you died fighting Vecna and then reincarnated into another dimension?"

"Yeah, that's what I was shown"

"That would explain why he wants you dead so much," Lucas said.

"It also means ending up here again wasn't an accident" Max said. "You were always meant to be here"

"I guess it's a chance for me to fix what I couldn't all those years ago* Aiden nodded.

"Do you have any particular memories from the lab?" Steve asked.

"Just a few of me and El spending time together in the rainbow room" Aiden recollected. "and then the night of the massacre... But not much else"

"This is actually a really crucial piece of information," Dustin said. "if you dig deep enough,you can probably remember any weaknesses you spotted then"

"And that's a big if, Dusty" Aiden turned to his friend. "I mean, it's been a literal lifetime... But I guess it couldn't hurt to try"

Max then held his hand before speaking. "There's something else.."

Aiden immediately caught on to what she was going to say.

"There was someone else in there," Max said. "He had white skin and long hair... And while he was human, he looked a lot like a-"

"Snake" Aiden finished, looking up at Lucas and Dustin, knowing they'd probably be the only ones to understand. "It was Orochimaru.. he's here"

"No way..." Lucas was shocked and Dustin seemed horrified. "As in,the one who terrorised the leaf and killed the Third Hokage"

"Mhmm" He nodded.

"And he's working with Vecna," Dustin asked.

"We are screwed," Dustin sighed.

"Can someone explain why this snake guy is so dangerous?" Robin asked and Steve nodded in agreement. Although Nancy heard about him from her brother,she still hasn't exactly known what made the man so dangerous.

"He could drain my Chakra by either touching me or having one of his snakes bite me, he knows at least 500 techniques, he's a born genius, he tanks physical damage easily, he can place a curse mark on me that would corrupt my soul, causing me to turn on everyone and not to mention he can resurrect literally any dead legend from the Naruto universe to fight me on his behalf"

"..."

"Yeah, we're in big trouble"

"Yep," Aiden sighed and leaned back in his seat.

The conversation then shifted to Henry and finding a way to lure him. They were trying to figure out where he could be hiding but Aiden suddenly felt a surge of impatience.. the more they dragged this on,the more time they gave those two to counter their plans.

"The old creel house" He spoke up. "That's where he is... He's in the Upside Down version of the house's attic. We can get to him through a gate that's gonna open in lover's lake"

"Wait, I thought you weren't supposed to-" Max started.

"I know," the ninja let out a sigh "but since he burrowed into my memories, he probably already knows that I'm aware of what's coming... It sucks but I guess I gotta Speedrun this shit"

"Even so,there's no way we can get to Vecna without getting targeted by that giant snake," Steve said.

"Yes,there is," Aiden spoke up. "We split them up"

Nancy immediately knew what he was implying. "No"

"Yes" The younger boy stubbornly nodded. "It's the only way to make it easier for you guys"

"You're not throwing yourself at a psychopath just so we can have an unlikely chance to beat another psychopath" Nancy said.

"Why not?!" Aiden shot back. "I did it when El needed to close the gate!"

"It's true,he did," Steve added, earning a glare from his ex.

"I know you think there's another way, Nance..." Aiden looked at his sister. "But there honestly isn't.. he's not even remotely as easy to beat as Vecna. That paedophile is on another plane of power entirely"

"And you want to face him alone?!" Max spoke up.

"Do I have a choice?!" Aiden asked. "If he's busy with me at least he'll leave you all alone!"

"For now,we go to the creel house just to make sure your prediction's right," Nancy said.

The 16 year old let out a groan. "Fine"

__________

The next two hours saw the group looking through the abandoned creel house.

"You're sure he just wants you?" Lucas asked as he and Aiden looked around. "That plan of yours... It's far too risky,man"

"We've never achieved anything by playing safe,have we?" Aiden looked at Lucas. "I mean, c'mon Lucas. We've been through a lot of shit in the past three years and survived all of it. Besides, being without Orochimaru would leave Vecna open to an attack from the rest of you.. I just want these niggas dead before it can escalate"

Aiden was actually terrified of the outcome of the whole battle; he knew very well that Max was fated to end up in a coma but as long as he breathed,he wouldn't let that happen. He wished he could just hunt down Oro himself and kill him off.. his faith in the plot's consistency was getting thinner by the hour. Anything... Absolutely anything could go wrong now.

"Aiden"

He turned right to see Max looking at him. "You're zoning out again"

"I'm sorry.." he sighed. "My stomach is in knots right now and I just can't stop-"

Max immediately held both his hands. "Look at me"

He did as she said and looked into her blue eyes.

"It'll be fine,okay sweetie?" She held his hands a little tighter.

He let out a breath and nodded.

"What about your Walkman?" Max gestured to the object strapped to his waist.

"It's ready; my whole playlist is in here" Aiden nodded. "74 songs.. just Incase Ode To Sleep doesn't work anymore"

"Doesn't work anymore?" Max scoffed. "Ode To Sleep is like the Twenty One Pilots version of Bohemian Rhapsody"

"Since when are you so confident in Tyler and Josh's music?" Aiden chuckled.

"Well it's hard not to when my boyfriend keeps blasting their music and speaking highly of them" Max smirked.

"I wish you could actually see them live," he laughed a bit. "But in this current timeline, neither of them have even been born yet"

"I'm sure they're awesome," Max nodded before looking at him. "You sure you're okay?"

Aiden nodded. "Thanks, Max"

Before he could hear Max's reply, he heard ticking that had become familiar to him...

Perfect.

"Aiden..."

"Shut up and listen to me, Henry" Aiden spoke,not bothering to lift his head. "Hope the pedo Snake's listening too. I can't believe I'm saying this... I wanna make a deal with you both"