Sadie comes crashing back to the present with a strangled yelp, her ears ringing as she realizes the sharp stab of pain in her knees comes about because she has slipped down to land upon them without ever being fully aware of it at all. She can't shake the unnerving sensation that crawls across her skin, making her shiver in spite of the sudden warmth provided by the sun. The feeling that she is still back in that world, seen through Vincent's mind. It's terrifying, if she is being completely honest, particularly since a part of her still seems to be trapped in that world despite being very much aware that she is back in the real Hawkins.
She isn't entirely sure whose hand is on her shoulder, now, and her eyesight is still partially obscured by little black dots, but in spite of all of the potential negatives to her situation, Sadie still realizes that what she has just experienced is far more encouraging than she initially dared to believe.
"That was—was that better?"
"Mildly," Vincent replies, watching as Sadie blinks herself back to awareness, and takes the hand Eddie offers her almost without fully seeing it to help her to her feet. The two of them had spent the better part of the morning slowly testing her limits. Trying to see if she could exploit the same psychic connection Vecna has been when he takes his victims, and even Vincent has to admit he is surprised that Eddie has only protested once or twice. But as soon the blood dripping from Sadie's nose becomes apparent, he realizes perhaps they have been pushing too far, too fast…
And he knows more than most, exactly what can happen when someone with their—ability—steps too far over the line.
"You should rest."
"No, I—I'm fine," Sadie protests, wiping at the blood trickling down from her nose while leaning heavily against Eddie's side, her eyes blinking as though she is still trying to clear her vision whether she wants to admit it or not.
"Stand on one leg, arms held at your sides."
"What?"
"Do that without toppling over, and we can carry on," Vincent instructs, aware of the sudden glint of determination in Sadie's eyes, the sigh of resignation he gives in response only prompting her to send him an uncharacteristically dark look before shuffling away from Eddie as best she can. She tries. She really does, her lips pursed in concentration as she extends her arms away from her sides and lifts her right foot off of the ground.
But Vincent could have predicted the way she would stumble almost immediately after doing so, Eddie's arms once again reaching out to steady her as she frowns and manages a tired huff of exasperation.
"That's what I thought. You aren't ready."
"I need to be."
"You need to understand, Sadie, if you use more than what you are capable of, you won't be any good to any of us."
"Then I need to be capable of more," The blonde grits out, frustration apparent along with one other thing Vincent does not expect—self-recrimination, "What can—what do I do to help with that?"
"You're learning."
"Not fast enough."
"Henry nearly died," Vincent informs, watching as shock makes its way into his niece's features, while Eddie, for his part, looks horrified, to say the least, "When he killed his mother. His sister. He nearly pushed himself too far, and could have lost everything."
"But he didn't."
"Do you want to die? Is that what this is? Because I don't have the time or energy to work around someone's ill-timed death wish."
"Woah, back off, man," Eddie steps in, not entirely able to pretend he disagrees with Vincent's cautionary words, whether or not he approves of the harsh tone that has Sadie tensing at his side in and of itself.
"You can't tell me you actually think she's being smart about this."
"More like I know trying to talk her out of it is only gonna make her more determined to keep pushing her limits."
"I don't have a death wish," Sadie interjects, appreciative of Eddie's attempted intervention, despite knowing he is on Vincent's side in all of this, surprising as that may seem, "I don't. I just—I want to be able to help."
"You need time."
"We don't have time, though. Do we? Not if—not if he's already shut me out."
"That's all part of his game," Vincent admits, aware of the apprehension that dawns in Sadie's expression, and trying to decide whether or not to temper his next words as a result. She needs to know the truth. She deserves to know, and she's right. They don't have time for him to do anything other than rip the band-aid off as quickly as they can manage, "The torment for those that refuse him. It keeps going for long enough, and you're left thinking nothing more than that everything he does is your fault."
"So how do we fix it?"
"I'm not entirely sure that we can."
"So, what—her only choice is to live with the guilt, or try to do something about it and—"
"Die?"
"Yeah," Eddie murmurs, unable to persuade himself to say the word aloud, the very thought of it sending what feels like buckets of ice water careening through his veins. He can't fathom a world without Sadie, but he knows how determined she's been, particularly when it comes to helping Max. Helping him.
He knows she isn't going to stop. She isn't going to think of how whatever she does may or may not drain her until she has nothing left to give.
Go figure he finally finds the courage to try and do something about how he's felt for her for what seems like forever, only to wind up losing her immediately after, more likely than not.
"Regrettably, that's the price of being a Creel," Vincent says then, something almost close to pity flickering in his features as he looks from Eddie to Sadie, and notices that while her own expression is only becoming more determined, Eddie's appears to be the precise opposite. He recognizes the situation more than he cares to admit, having gone through it a few times, himself.
He hardly lived on his own, isolated from the rest of the world, by choice, but after countless arguments with various interested parties, all of which had been trying to persuade him to look after himself—to stay away from the inherent danger his abilities posed—to no avail, he came to the decision that keeping to himself may be the best bet all around.
"You need to think about this, Sadie. About what all that you can do might mean. All it might cost. No one is going to judge you if you—"
"I'm not backing out," Sadie interrupts, moving away from Eddie's side, and choosing to perch on a nearby rock instead, her hands trembling just a bit as they smooth down the fabric of her jeans, "I—I can't."
"You can. You just don't want to."
"You said there was improvement. That I was getting—better."
"I did."
"Then why is this something you think I can't do?"
"Because you're looking at going up against someone when you only have days of experience. Days, when they have had years," Vincent explains, risking a step or two closer to Sadie, and almost immediately becoming aware of how she curls in on herself—and how Eddie moves to hover at her side as a result, "Sadie, believe it or not, I am trying to protect you."
"You shouldn't. I—I wish you wouldn't."
"And you wonder why I accused you of having a death wish."
"That's not—"
"Quiet."
"What?"
"Someone's coming."
Sadie doesn't have time to protest as Eddie drags her behind one of the larger boulders comprising Skull Rock, her heart hammering against her rib cage as she finds herself pressed between his body, and the hard surface with little room between them. She doesn't know where Vincent went. If he will stay close, or disappear just as easily as he had happened upon her and Eddie that morning. And a part of her wants to succumb to panic over once again finding herself pressed back against something immovable, such that she has no means of escape. But surprisingly, keeping her eyes locked with Eddie's is helping her resist the pull back to memories of Andy, and the associated terror those memories bring about…
In truth, she is so focused on the intensity of Eddie's eyes as he looks down at her—on the steady rise and fall of his chest as she places her hand over his heart without truly being aware of it—that she almost doesn't realize she could have recognized the voice they can now hear coming through the trees from a mile away.
Steve…
…
Steve eyes the newcomer—Vincent Creel—from his position standing near Skull Rock, and in next to no time at all decides he does not like him.
It's ironic, really, since he's made such an effort to stop his former habit of judging someone before really getting to know them, but somehow, this seems different. He's already picked up on a curious sort of tension from Sadie. A nervous energy that seems far more intense than usual from Eddie, that was never quite as extreme when Steve had been around him and Sadie, alone.
By contrast, Vincent seems practically serene, leaning against Skull Rock with both arms folded across his chest, regarding Sadie with a skeptically amused sort of glance before he speaks…
"Exactly how many children are you friends with?"
Yeah. Steve definitely did not like him.
"Hey, some of us have actually graduated already," He cuts in, the remark earning a curious wince from Eddie, and a nonplussed look from Vincent before the latter moves to reply.
"A graduate who spends his time with minors. How—charming."
"Watch it, man."
"Or what?"
"Vincent, stop," Sadie murmurs, the words sounding about as weak as she appears, as though all of the strength she has is being slowly drained away, "They know. They've—they've seen all of this before."
"Forgive me if I don't immediately believe that—"
"You should. Because we have," Max says, clearly not at all put off by the narrowing in Vincent's eyes as he turns to look at her directly, the sensation of Lucas' hand on her shoulder quickly shrugged away as she steps forward to continue, "The way I see it, Vecna's just—more of the same."
"What have you seen?"
"I thought you didn't believe us."
"Tell me what you've seen and maybe I'll change my mind," Vincent quips, suppressing a smirk that Steve's remark provokes, and marvelling at how easy the kid is making it to continue digging at the bravado he wears around himself like a shield. He is familiar with the type. Cocky. Brawn and looks, but not a lot of brain power to go along with it. Truthfully, this was the type of boy he expected his niece would have gone for. Not the long-haired wanted fugitive that he had found her with. But inasmuch as he can tell Sadie is watching Steve with no small amount of concern, it seems to be nothing more than friendly.
Platonic.
Compare that to the way she occasionally darts surreptitious glances at Eddie when she thinks he isn't looking, and even Vincent has to admit he never saw that particular development coming.
"We call it the Upside Down. It's—okay, what's that look for?"
"The Upside Down. Seriously?"
"For a parallel dimension that mirrors our world, yeah. I kinda think it's a pretty good name," Dustin retorts, clearly more than a little offended by the cavalier nature of Vincent's judgment of their name for the other world that keeps coming back to haunt them no matter what they do, "What would you call it, oh all-knowing one?"
"Dustin—"
"No, Sadie, he's got a point," Steve interjects, moving to stand at Dustin's side, and rather pointedly ignoring Sadie's attempts at peacemaking in favor of going on, "I thought you were here to help us."
"I'm here to help her. I made no promises regarding any of the rest of you."
"And from the looks of how exhausted she is, clearly you helped a lot."
"Okay, maybe we don't need to talk about Sadie like she's not even here," Nancy suggests, looking between Steve, Dustin and Vincent for a moment, before turning to Sadie instead, in time to note the small, but no less appreciative smile her words had earned her as a result, "None of this is helping us actually come up with a plan to stop Vecna."
"You don't actually think the eight of you stand a chance against him, do you?"
"It's like Dustin said. We—we've faced this sort of thing before."
"Alright then. Tell me how you plan to kill him."
"Well we—we haven't exactly gotten there, yet, which is why we need to—"
"Right. That's what I thought," Vincent surmises, cutting through Nancy's intended reply and running a hand across increasingly tired features, exasperation causing him to shake his head despite the sour looks it earns him from nearly every one of these—children—in next to no time at all, "You are all in over your heads."
"We're working on a plan."
"You don't have time to work on a plan. Thinking that you do just proves how poorly prepared you really are."
"We have a friend who has super powers. She's beaten this kind of thing before," Dustin blurts, clearly trying to salvage the conversation, though the attempt only causes Vincent to favor him with a skeptically raised brow, "But she kind of—her powers are sort of more—theoretical, now."
"Brilliant. I'm sure those theoretical powers this little friend of yours no longer possesses will be very helpful."
"Sadie's powers aren't theoretical."
Steve recognizes the flinch Sadie gives in response to his declaration, and for a moment, he wonders if saying something out loud is a completely terrible decision. He could have predicted Eddie's almost instinctive shift toward her. The slight frown Max would wear as she looks at him, knowing what he says is true, but hating that he has to say it at all. Lucas is entirely focused upon Max, and Dustin and Robin are making every attempt to appear neutral…
And Nancy? Nancy is watching him with a mix of curiosity and warning in her expression that hardly does Steve any good when trying to determine whether or not he should even attempt to go on.
"They're not. And from what she was telling us, yours aren't either. Right?"
"None of that matters."
"Care to, uh—I don't know—explain that?"
"I am not committing to a mission to kill this—Vecna—because he cannot be killed. Certainly not by any of you," Vincent replies, aware of the way several of Sadie's would-be companions are already moving to protest, and endeavoring to finish speaking before any of them are able to succeed, "And I can hardly send Sadie to that fate on her own."
"Oh, so you think you can tell her what to do now?" Steve scoffs, dragging a hand through his hair, and resisting the sudden urge he has to knock the smug little smirk Vincent wears off of his face for good, "After knowing her for less than a week?"
"I've certainly got more leverage there than you."
"You don't."
"Sadie—"
"You don't," The blonde repeats, feeling the way Eddie seems to tense beside her, her hand reaching for his without any sort of conscious thought, even in spite of how Dustin, Robin and Steve track the movement with apparent surprise, "I'm not—you're family, but you can't—you can't keep me from doing this."
"So you do have a death wish."
"No."
"Oh? What would you call it, then?"
"You said it yourself. They can't beat this on their own."
"So you plan to offer yourself up as bait to help them. How noble."
"It's got to be better than running. Better than being scared all the time," Sadie reasons, pointedly ignoring the tremor of very real fear that races through her veins at the thought of what Vincent may do if she persists in her current path. She still barely understands what it is she can do. She knows she isn't nearly strong enough to go against Vecna—Henry—on her own. But she also remembers the promise she and Eddie made to each other. That they were done running. For good.
And Sadie is hardly about to go back on her word, now.
"You don't—you don't have to help them if you don't want to, but I—I will."
Truthfully, Vincent is more than a little surprised by the vehemence—the determination—in Sadie's tone and expression, given that he always figured Lorraine would have cowed her daughter into a permanent state of submission at the first chance she got. But the girl standing before him is not the same child he had met just days before. Traces of that timid wisp of a thing still remain, of course, but rather quickly, another thing entirely is moving to take that girl's place.
Once again Vincent is reminded of a younger version of himself, and that pains him. It pains him because he knows this ferocity Sadie seems to have taken for her own cannot possibly last.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Using the same ability that he does to try to help his victims without him noticing is what I agreed to help with. Trying to actually kill him? That is something else entirely."
"Then stay. Stay, and show me how to do that."
"I can't."
"Then go. If you aren't going to help, and you're only going to try and discourage her—discourage all of us—just go," Steve sighs, almost forced to regret the hard edge behind the words as Vincent gives him a look that is just shy of remorseful—almost—though his frustration keeps him from giving in entirely, no matter what. For a moment, he expects the older man to protest. To have a sudden change of heart. But in spite of that, Vincent turns back to Sadie, a frown marring his features a moment before he addresses her once again.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
Steve is more than a little surprised by Sadie's casual acceptance of her uncle's departure, but then, he has to admit, she wouldn't be Sadie if she wasn't constantly keeping him on his toes. In a way, he almost admires that about her, despite knowing of the circumstances that brought it about in the first place. And as Vincent begins to thread his way back through the woods, and the remainder of the group he leaves behind watch after him in startled silence, Steve catches himself in a realization that he never once saw coming.
He still doesn't like Vincent. Not by a long shot. But there's something else he feels for the older man, aside from dislike.
Pity. Pity for a man that has clearly already faced hell, and would rather turn his back on the people that want to rid the world of that hell for good, than risk facing it again himself.
And Steve isn't exactly sure what he is supposed to make of that.
…
"I don't get it, man."
"Don't get what?"
"Vincent bailing on us. You. Any of it," Steve admits, risking a glance at where Eddie walks beside him, and noticing almost immediately that his momentary companion's attention is absolutely fixed on where Sadie walks up ahead, between Nancy and Robin, with Max, Dustin and Lucas trailing along not far behind, "It doesn't make any sense."
"Okay, Vincent, I get. But me? What did I do?"
"More like what you didn't do."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Eddie demands, suddenly defensive, even though as soon as the retort escapes, he can tell that Steve did not mean for his initial statement to be taken as any sort of judgment at all.
"Nothing, I guess. I just—it's just—weird, you know? You're dead set against Sadie taking any risks a few days ago and now you're okay with it?"
"I never said I was okay with it."
"Well you sure didn't put up any fight when she was talking like she was planning on going kamikaze against Vecna!" Steve exclaims, finally managing to get Eddie to look him in the eye, though what he sees when that happens has him regretting it in seconds flat, "I—sorry, I just—"
"You're right."
"I—what?"
"You're right. I didn't put up a fight," Eddie says, once again looking back to Sadie, a curious sensation throbbing in his chest as he watches her tug his jacket just a bit closer around her while nodding at something Robin has just said, "But uh—for the record, you were kind of the one who said if I kept pushing it I'd lose her."
"Yeah. Yeah I guess I was. Maybe that wasn't so smart of me after all, huh?"
"Wow. I'm impressed."
"What?"
"The great Steve Harrington actually can admit when he was wrong."
"Shut up, man," Steve laughs, the sound startling him as he manages what he hopes will be a somewhat convincing roll of the eyes, though the sudden smirk Eddie wears tells him his efforts have fallen short, "No, I just—I mean you can't actually be alright with this."
"Trust me. I'm not."
"Then why the hell are you going along with it?"
"Because if she's gonna run straight into hell, and there's not a damn thing I can do to stop her—"
"You're gonna at least make sure you're with her every step of the way."
"Pretty much," Eddie confirms, aware of the comprehension that seems to flood Steve's expression, and realizing that he is more relieved than he really cares to admit that he isn't perhaps quite as crazy as he thinks for doing what he's done thus far, "I think by this point, we've kind of had more than enough proof of how shitty things get whenever we split up."
"Yeah. People drag yours truly on a carpool adventure that ends in them getting drunk."
"Max almost dies."
"Or Sadie almost dies."
"Or worse."
The words are out before Eddie can stop them and he knows he doesn't stand a chance at taking them back now, Steve's expression turning from faintly amused to curious—maybe even concerned—in little to no time at all. Steve has to have noticed Sadie wearing his jacket. Clutching it tightly around herself like some sort of shield. Even Vincent had noticed, though one look at Sadie's expression that came about in response to his skeptically lifted brow had clearly persuaded him to keep silent.
Eddie could kick himself for potentially exposing a secret that wasn't his to tell, but as he watches the metaphorical gears turning in Steve's head, he realizes it might not have taken Harrington that much longer to come to the same conclusion on his own.
"Andy."
"Listen, man—"
"She doesn't want anyone to know. I get it," Steve acknowledges, looking toward Sadie himself, and wondering how she can actually manage the smile she appears to be sending Nancy, given everything she is going through with little to no preparation for it at all, "But uh—maybe after all of this is done—"
"You'll take care of Andy yourself?"
"That a problem?"
"Only if I don't get to come, too."
Once again Steve catches himself surprised, this time by Eddie, and a part of him wonders if all the time spent with Sadie is starting to have an impact, whether he is fully aware of it or not. He didn't really know the guy from before, save for the showy antics he occasionally indulged in at lunch, and the obvious way he was so very different from anyone else. But the Eddie standing beside him now isn't the same one they had found, hidden away in Reefer Rick's boathouse. Even Steve can see that.
This person is someone who, while making claims about not being a hero, would also be entirely likely to throw himself into the flames if it meant keeping someone else safe. And Steve knows, somehow, that Eddie would do exactly that for Sadie. Dustin. Maybe even Lucas, or Max as well.
And he finds himself wondering, if Eddie will do that, just like Steve knows he would for Nancy, Robin or anyone else in their ragtag little group, then maybe, despite what Vincent says, they can pull this off, after all.
Maybe, between the two of them, he and Eddie can actually find a way to get everyone out of this alive.
…
Hello there, my angels! And welcome to another new chapter! (Yes, the Eddie Munson hyper-fixation is still going strong. Whoopsies?) I really did plan on getting our group to "Watergate" by the end of this chapter, but as you can see, Vincent stole the show first, and then so did Eddie and Steve. Hopefully no one minds the snack-sized gate drama waiting for just one more chapter?
With that said, I seem to have come to a bit of a dilemma as far as what to do with Sadie during those events. A part of me enjoys the idea of her being with Robin, Eddie, Steve and Nancy in the Upside Down, but I could also explore a bit of a different side to canon if she's with the kids, instead (and possibly bring her face to face with her mother as a result). So, because I'm so undecided, I'm going to offer it up to you guys to give your input on what I should do! No pressure, if you have no preference either way, but if you do, I would absolutely love to know!
As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story thus far! And special thanks to acutemoose, mistyagami, WiseGirlDivergence46, and MulishaMaiden for the lovely feedback the last time around! I appreciate all of you so very much more than you know, and I hope you enjoy this installment as much as the last!
Until next time, my loves…
MOMM