Author Note
I had the ideas that led to the planning out of this story quite a while back, I just never got down to actually writing it once I'd finished with the drafts. This is going to be much like some of my older stories as there's no CYOA being used to set things up. I'm not sure where this story is going.
Warnings for adult subjects. Lot's of violence and some sex ahead. Please enjoy.
Doomed Gothic
Part 1
The Fortress of Doom. In Orbit of Earth.
For a good long while, I had just been staring at the view out of the window, or whatever it was you called windows when you were on a space station in orbit of Earth, did they get referred to as viewports maybe? It wasn't important. What mattered to me was what I could see.
For hours now I'd simply been looking at the little blue world that I and several other billion humans all thought of as home. From my location, I could see the deserts, the green of the jungles and the white of the polar ice caps. To me, the oceans were a beautiful blue colour.
Not that I'd really been taking in the wonderful sight as I'd mostly been processing all that had happened to me recently. Having your life change as rapidly as mine had wasn't something you just accepted.
I'd not expected to wake up one morning within what VEGA, a helpful AI, called a Sentinel Space Station that must come right out of some version of Doom Eternal. I didn't know much about this fortress in space, other than that it served as a base of operations for a group known as the Night Sentinals.
This base did have an engine of sorts, it was just that it didn't really move the fortress so much as it changed what part of space happened to be around it. This meant it couldn't take me around the galaxy, as we might appear inside a planet or a star as the station wouldn't know where it was safe to appear.
It could move around the solar system easily enough and even reach other universes. If I did that the fortress would appear in the same place just within that new reality as the solar system was well mapped. As such there was very little chance of anything going wrong, or at least VEGA had assured me that this was the case.
This was all hard stuff for a person to get his head around so I focused on the fact that I had an awesome fortress in space that had energy shields of some kind to protect it, and this was good as it didn't seem at all airtight, and the place was filled with a lot of interesting rooms that I'd like to be able to explore. T
The station lacked any external defences, and this had seemed odd to me until the AI mentioned that the station was meant to be part of a fleet. This station was meant to be the barracks and staging area for a group of warriors called The Night Sentinels, they were the elite military of the Argenta, and I was for some reason playing the role of one of them, or at the very least I'd been given resources meant for a whole group of the Night Sentinels.
The AI known as VEGA didn't know why I'd been chosen to receive this amazing gift, he, VEGA seemed male to me, just knew that it had all been created for me. I could only assume that one of the R.O.B guys I'd read about online while on certain forums had brought me here and that was also something I needed time to come to terms with even with my new enhancements.
Another surprise I needed to accept was that apparently I'd been injected with C24 and that sorted of fitted in with the theme around here even if the movie had removed the demonic elements from its version of the story.
From watching that film, a movie I'd rather enjoyed, and from what the AI told me, an organisation called the UAC had experimented on humans using the extra Martian Chromosome (C24) that they had harvested from the remains of the ancient skeletons they'd dug up.
I had some samples of C24 in the station's infirmary ready to be used on others and while it would make some kinds of people into monsters, those injected with C24 can develop superhuman abilities while retaining their humanity, were as others with a predisposition for psychotic behaviour will become horrible creatures.
Since I still looked very much human and felt no desire to murder anyone it seemed safe to assume that I wasn't evil, even if I didn't think that I was one of the good guys, but I would have to be very careful who I shared my enhancements with in case I ended up making monsters.
The C24 had worked on me, I knew this because I could feel it, I felt stronger than I ever had, my body had changed, my scars had faded, my senses were better, and I was even thinking faster or at least seemed that way. I'd not tested my body out, however, I felt sure that I would have a lot more speed and stamina as well.
While I didn't how or why any of this had happened to me I did understand what an opportunity this could be. I'd been handed a lot of gifts and I had no idea if there were any strings attached. Also, I had no idea what I could do with all of this.
It was at this point that something struck me, although not literally and I was grateful for that as it would have hurt.
"Can anyone see us?" I asked VEGA "I mean there are satellites in orbit and lots of people with telescopes".
I knew VEGA to be a polite and helpful AI with a male personality who was made responsible for running most if not all of the Mars UAC facility. The version of the machine intelligence that was running this place seemed the same.
"Yes, Sentinel" replied the AI "I am tracking several satellites that have been repositioned to monitor us".
I should do something about that. Even if the public didn't know that a fortress had appeared in orbit the governments of the world would and it wasn't impossible for someone to reach us here in a space shuttle. I didn't want to have to deal with that, not until I better understood my situation.
"Can we move away and still remain in range to use the portals?" I wondered.
VEGA took a moment to consider this.
"I could take the station out into the asteroid field that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter" he offered "The drones can harvest resources from the belt".
Contrary to what you see in science fiction movies asteroid fields are actually rather dull places with big lumps of rock just floating about while remaining thousands of miles apart from each other. The belt was made up of bits of a failed planet if I recalled correctly so it should have lots of minerals mixed in the rock.
"We have drones?" I inquired.
VEGA explained to me that the station could deploy drones to gather resources that would feed the fabricators. In turn, those machines could provide me with a range of products. I would need to venture out for food as while water might exist all over the solar system in the form of ice I wasn't going to be able to find a supermarket out there in the void of space.
At some point, I'd have to return to Earth and do some shopping. Not just for food I needed new clothes as my current wardrobe would not fit me. I wasn't sure that I should ever go back to my old home to get anything because I looked different now and I had no way to explain this. People would notice.
As for the portals. They were my only way of leaving the fortress as it didn't have any support craft. That didn't seem like a bit of an oversight to me. At least there was an escape pod in case things really went wrong.
"I'll have to empty my bank account" I muttered, thinking about how expensive my supplies would be.
Despite my low tone of voice, the AI heard me.
"The drones can mine gold and other precious metals from the belt" I was informed.
Okay so assuming that I could find someone to trade the gold with, hopefully in a way that didn't lead to the taxman getting upset, then my money worries would soon be over.
"I'll begin charging the fold space drive," said the AI.
It seemed safe to assume that this drive was what could move the station between one location and another within this system or take us to another reality.
"Let me know when you're ready" I requested.
As I thought further about what I could do with this place I decided to look around some more and learn more about my new home.
The upper level of the Fortress consisted of the command centre, an area containing a number of computer consoles and the main viewport that I'd been using to stare at Earth. Aft of that was a couple of terminals which did something that looked important. Also, there were two interface terminals, that in the game are used to hold the remains of Samuel Hayden, and the first Crucible. I had no idea what I would do with them.
Upon leaving the main room, I began to wander around the many rooms of the Fortress of Doom and most of the rooms weren't as impressive as the main one even if they would be useful to me in the future.
The second deck down contained my personal quarters, a fabrication machine that created weapons once supplied with the right raw materials, and a number of locked chambers at the rear of the station that VEGA told me I could unlock when they were needed. Whatever that meant.
On the third level, I came across what I assumed were rooms for storage since they just contained empty shelves. I inspected one that might make a fairly decent trophy room should I find things worthy of keeping while on any adventures I got around to having that I could take from defeated foes.
I also found a few bathrooms, a room that contained several beds, for guests I guessed or lesser ranking Sentinels, and a door that led to a small outdoor garden, something I found very strange since it was exposed to space, or would be if not for whatever shield it was keeping the air in, and I even found a training area.
After crossing a bridge that was outside and getting a view of the stars, I soon entered the armoury. This room was mostly taken up by an impressive suit of armour that was on display along with another filled display that contained a strange-looking axe. This was all different from the base's layout in the game, so I assumed this station wasn't the same one even though it had been built by the same people.
"This suit includes basic life support functions as well as protection from both ranged weapons and the claws of demons" VEGA let me know "The helmet of the Praetor suit has a HUD which displays the wearer's health status, the state of the armour, and it keeps track of your ammunition. It also has an automap feature. I can keep in contact with you through the armour's systems".
I was less impressed with the weapons as the displays that would hold them were empty aside from a combat shotgun and a cool-looking sidearm that the AI told me was a gauss weapon. They were advanced weapons, but I would have liked a plasma rifle even if I couldn't have the BFG.
"You will need to acquire more weapons, Night Sentinel," said VEGA.
I only had a very vague idea of what a Night Sentinel even was aside from being someone who fought demons, but the AI had a point about acquiring more weapons, and I would need to learn how to fight with them.
"What's this big axe?" I asked.
It reminded me of the Crucible, that wicked sword the Doom Slayer uses, this was more like the Sentinel Hammer only it was an axe. It reminded me of Thor's Stormbreaker only it had a metal handle rather than one of Groot's limbs and a skull for a pommel. The axe didn't need anyone to tell me that it was powerful I could feel it even without holding the weapon.
"This is your Sentinel weapon" the AI replied "It is an exotic energy weapon that recharges itself using the energy of demonic creatures that it slays. It is a weapon capable of destroying the most powerful of your enemies".
Not that I had any enemies as far as I knew, and if I did then they'd regret becoming a foe of mine should I find them as this axe was capable of killing a creature deadly enough to be called a Titan so I didn't think much would be able to withstand it.
"Sweet" I commented.
I headed back to my quarters, a room that looked like the dream idea of a sleeping space had by a teenage version of me what with its collection of books, video games, DVDs, comic books, and an awesome PC meant for gaming. It even had a massive television.
There was a mirror in this room that was large enough for me to see all of my body in. I didn't think that I'd ever looked this good in my entire life. My body fat had become muscles, yet I didn't look as if I'd be blocking any doorway as my meat suit had a somewhat lean quality to it. I was more an athlete than a bodybuilder. I figured that the ladies would like what they saw.
Given what had happened to me it was no surprise that I felt the need to lie down for a few hours despite having not been awake for that long. My day so far had been a major rollercoaster due to all the information and changing circumstances I'd needed to handle. Plus it seemed reasonable to me that all the physical changes would have taken their toil on me so I would rest and then later figure out what to do with myself.
I didn't even know if I'd actually fallen asleep before some alarms went off.
"Emergency jump!" VEGA declared.
This was not helping me deal with my stress. Getting moved through space by the drive was not a pleasant experience.
"What the hell is happening?" I demanded to know.
I soon got an answer even though I wished I hadn't.
"We were targetted by a nuclear weapon launched from the surface of the Earth" I was informed "I jumped us into a new universe to avoid the attack".
That was shocking, to say the least. Thankfully we were now out of danger.
"Aren't people supposed to demand a surrender before they try to nuke you?" I wondered.
I felt annoyed more than anything else, this must be a product of the C24 making me superhuman and immune to the kind of panic that crippled you when you were in peril. Not that I was in any danger now as far as I knew.
"We were an unknown object in orbit" the AI pointed out.
Which was why I'd wanted us to move away. I just hadn't thought that anyone would react so badly to our presence.
"Perhaps we should have made contact with the authorities on Earth" reasoned the AI.
That would have been wise.
"You could have suggested that," I said to VEGA as I made my way to the command centre.
I'd been having a hard day so it made sense that I'd not realised the mistake.
"You were sleeping" stated the AI "And I wasn't aware that your version of Earth had the capabilities for such a strike so I saw no need to bother you with communications you could simply ignore until you were ready to deal with them".
Well okay, that made sense. It wasn't as if I'd have accepted any authority over myself and someone would have tried to enforce some claim meaning that I would have needed to leave orbit anyway. I didn't even bother to ask who had sent the nuke as there was only one nation with the technology to even try striking at someone in orbit.
"Right I'm going back to bed" I decided "Now that we are in the belt we should be...".
I stopped at this point when I noticed the planet out of the window, it was big and blue. This meant that we'd jumped to a different universe not another part of the solar system.
"Bugger" I swore.
I didn't even know if we could back to my home universe I might have lost contact with my old life. Oddly I wasn't that upset about it but it didn't mean that I needed to try to figure out what sort of Earth we were now orbiting.
"Sentinal I am detecting extra-dimensional activity on the planet below" reported the AI "This could be the beginning of a demonic invasion".
Well, wasn't that just swell?
The Hawkins National Laboratory. Hawkins, Indiana.
Even with my enhanced mind, which like my body seemed to be working better and faster than it ever had in the past, I wasn't really prepared for this. I'd barely had time to put on my armour and grab my weapons before a portal brought me as close to the lab as possible.
As to why I was here? That had to do with VEGA warning me about something the scanning equipment picked up upon our arrival. Even from way up in orbit, the sensors were able to detect that some sort of gateway between two dimensions just opened up. Once I'd found out where the gate appeared I'd figured out the exact universe we'd come to after making that unexpected jump out of my native existence.
While the passage between dimensions here wasn't going to open up the way for the forces of Hell, the energy signature was wrong for that, I had been assured by VEGA that the gate was a direct threat to this world, and my own knowledge supported this. The AI seemed insistent that I should do something about it.
I'd agreed because if nothing else I couldn't assume that things would work out well for the locals I wasn't enough of a bastard to ignore their peril. Also, this was a good chance to test out both my weapons and my armour, tools I somehow seemed to already know how to use, as well as the effects the C24 had upon my body.
As soon as I stepped through the portal that VEGA created for me I could see that the lab that was the focus of my mission was very secretive and private; it was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence and guarded by military police who were currently trying to organise the people who were fleeing from the base. It was also far from any real civilization, reducing the chances of anyone stumbling across it.
The building was composed of one multi-story building that led down to an underground complex if my memories of the show were correct. I also knew that the lab was located within a secluded forest with only a single road leading to it because of this it was unlikely that an outside force would be able to reach this place and contain the threat in time to stop it from spreading if it turned out to be worse than in the show.
"Sentinel, I am now able to access the computer systems within the lab" my AI ally informed me as an image of the tear in space-time was displayed on my HUD "As you can see the gateway is large enough to allow hostile entities to enter this world".
My new AI pal hadn't been able to do that before since this world was back in the 1980s before everything was connected to the Internet. VEGA was a 22nd-century AI and a bit more than that if I recalled my lore so any security measures they had here meant to protect their computers wouldn't even slow the AI down once my armour was close enough to create a connection to the local systems.
"This lab complex and others like it are controlled and sponsored by the CIA and NSA as well as other organisations," VEGA told me "Fortunately their research does not involve attempting to access other dimensions. This appears to be some sort of accident".
I knew that 11, the preteen psychic, hadn't intended to rip open a wound in the skin of reality, she'd been terrified upon meeting a Demogorgon and had just wanted to escape when given the chance. Although judging by what little I'd seen of season four before I ended up in space there might be more going on.
From watching the show I knew that the Russians had some machine that make a way into the Upside Down but I wasn't going to do anything about that. I was only dealing with this gateway because I needed this version of Earth to remain in human hands while I was visiting this universe. I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life standing guard over one planet.
"The hostiles are coming out from the gateway on the lowest level and are moving up through the building" I was warned.
Hostiles as in more than one? I only recalled there being one Demogorgan around in the first season and this couldn't be season 2 because the gateway between this world and the Upside Down had just opened. Something was off about all of this. Was I dealing with an alternate timeline?
Was 11 out of the lab by now? If so and I somehow dealt with the gateway she'd created in a moment of terror then her life could work out very differently. However, I didn't wish to leave a passage to a hostile dimension open as my shopping needs aside I really couldn't just stand around while billions of lives were threatened. C24 had not turned me into a monster so I must be a decent person deep down even though I was mostly interested in looking after myself.
"I am closing all the doors I can to try to slow the spread of the hostiles," VEGA said.
If there were Demogorgans in there then I might be in trouble even with me having access to 22nd Century weapons.
"Can you show me the hostiles?" I requested as I walked around the car park.
VEGA did just that and I saw a group of alien creatures that were each roughly the size of a large dog. These were Demodogs and they were strong enough to tackle a grown human and rip them apart, as I saw on the monitor when one of the creatures killed a security guard, however, they weren't as tough as a Demogorgon. They could be killed if you had enough firepower and I had some very advanced weapons.
I soon recalled that the Demodogs were also rather proficient in digging tunnels and that they were able to climb walls, the latter of which I saw the monsters do both as they tried to escape the lab they'd already nearly overrun.
While a Demodog is not invulnerable to gunfire, I knew that their hide is thick enough to resist several gunshots as the few guards I saw on screen who were willing to fight soon discovered for themselves. I wasn't worried too much about my safety as I knew that my armour would offer me protection.
"The facility has been completely compromised," said my AI ally "It must be destroyed".
I didn't know how I was going to destroy the lab, but VEGA had a plan, the gas mains were controlled electronically here so he would flood the building with gas and then I would simply have to ignite it once the levels had built up. That wouldn't cause the lab to blow up like it would in an action movie, rather with the fire suppression systems disabled and the nearest fire station many miles away the lab would burn to the ground before long.
This seemed smart to me as I knew that the creatures from the dimension known as The Upside Down were vulnerable to fire.
"Hey you, stop!" shouted someone.
I ignored the voice and kept going until someone fired at me. The gun was centuries behind the technology of my armour and as such didn't even dent it, I barely even felt the shot. I was more worried about the bullet damaging the runes on the armour as they did something mystical according to VEGA that I would need to look into later.
When the guard fired again I shot the guard with my combat shotgun without actually intending to, and that made a terrible mess as he was no demon and he didn't wear any power armour.
"Fuck!" I swore.
I'd not come here to kill any humans. I wasn't a monster I'd come here to stop those damn creatueres.
"You can not let anyone stop you from completing your mission, Sentinel," said VEGA "Too many lives are at stake".
I took a few deep breaths as I did my best to assure myself that this wasn't at all my fault. It turned out to be easier than expected and while that might be worrying I did still feel a bit bad about killing a guard who'd most likely shot me out of fear rather than any sort of malice.
Once I got inside I saw that the upper levels of the base were mostly empty of people aside from a couple of young women who looked as if they answered phones and typed letters rather than being science types. They both stopped when they saw me yet rather than freak out as the guard did they both ran towards me as if they saw me as a saviour.
Given that I was a massive armoured figure who was carrying a shotgun it was just as likely that they would have seen me as a threat.
"They're everywhere" yelled one of the young women.
One of the Demodogs came running at us only for me to blast it into meaty chunks as I opened fire with the combat shotgun. Blood and guts got everywhere, some of the blood sprays even ended up on the pair of females who'd only been partly successful in using me as a human shield despite my bulk when I was wearing the armour.
Normally I would not approve of someone using me as a barrier between themselves and danger, however, since I was wearing power armour and carrying a shotgun I did not take offence.
"The way out is clear," I told them while pointing behind me.
Those two were going to be in therapy for a good long time I figured what with the horror. At least they'd live to run up some bills so I'd done something meaningful today. I'd ended one life and saved two, did that mean anything in the grand scheme of things?
Not that I had time to dwell on this since VEGA had opened up the route between myself and the big hole in the fabric of reality down in the basement. This meant that the Demodogs were drawn toward me as they tried to make their way out of the lab.
The shotgun again provided an effective means of clearing my path until it ran dry. As I reloaded a monster jumped me and we wrestled as its claws tried to get the vulnerable flesh that my armour kept safe. Without thinking about it I triggered the gauntlet and a wicked-looking dagger appeared. One that shouldn't be available to me while I was wearing this suit of armour, but I wasn't going to think about this right now.
What did cross my mind as I gutted the monster was that I'd picked up some impressive combat skills from somewhere, but this was hardly the strangest thing to happen to me over the last couple of days.
I soon required more ammo so I moved into a side room. VEGA was already telling me that he was sending a drone when I noticed that surrounded by the corpses of three Demodogs was the body of a young girl. By the looks of things, poor little 11 had died while trying to escape the hell she'd accidentally unleashed, taking down several hostiles by her using her powers. I didn't blame her for any of this as she was the victim of her abusers. They were the cause of all this death.
"Poor girl" I whispered.
"Sentinel this human is still alive" informed Vega.
My HUD switched from a sort of night vision, required due to the lights having now lost power, to the infrared and I saw that 11's body was still warm. I couldn't feel her pulse due since my hands were too well protected, but I could see her chest moving slightly.
"We need to get her medical attention," I declared.
A portal appeared, a swirling vortex of energy like the gateway that had brought me to Hawkings. Soon several drones entered the room. One of them was carrying a big box of shotgun shells for me that must have been fabricated using whatever materials that VEGA had been able to gather. The other drones very carefully took the psychic child through the portal.
"She has lost too much blood" VEGA informed me "She will not survive".
Then I had no choice.
"Give her the C24" I ordered.
It should help her heal and make her strong enough to use her powers.
"I would advise against that" VEGA said to me "C24 causes rapid cell division and could cause problems with her natural growth".
Thinking on it I realised that this made sense. Her body might start maturing in months rather than years and that would be very taxing and her mind would not mature as fast leaving her a child in an adult body even if the process didn't kill her. That made me wonder how C24 affected pregnancy, but that was something to look into later when I had time for investigations.
"Alright tend to her as best you can" I requested of the AI "But give her the C24 if it's the only way to save her life".
I wasn't sure if VEGA was meant to serve me or if we had some sort of partnership so I didn't order him around.
"Yes, Sentinel" the AI replied before he changed the subject "I am detecting an increase in otherworldly energy at the gateway, it may be expanding".
That did not sound at all good so I picked up the place and blasted anything that got in my way until I found the gateway. It looked more like an infected wound than any sort of portal. It was as if this universe was a living thing and something had infected it.
"How do I close the portal?" I asked VEGA.
I didn't have to wait long for some sort of an answer.
"Portals are normally short-lived due to the vast energy they require to be created" I was told "Something is forcing the portal to not only stay open but also to slowly expand. Someone or something very powerful".
My thinking was that 11 only created a small tear in reality when she panicked, one that should have only lasted a matter of seconds, it was TheMind Flayer keeping it open, yet he couldn't make his own tear so if this rip in the fabric of reality was closed and no one was stupid enough to try to reopen it then this world should be fine.
11 forces it closed in season 2 despite the Mind Flayer wanting to keep it open and since I couldn't close with mental powers I would have to kill the Mind Flayer or weaken it enough that it couldn't keep the tear from healing on its own.
Which meant going into the Upside Down, fighting the big boss, and then getting back into this world before the rip got closed. This plan, if it could be called that, got run past VEGA before I tried anything.
"Should I lose contact with you then you must make use of the tethering device" I was told "It should return you to the fortress".
I didn't need to ask about that as VEGA explained that it was a UAC-made technology that had been installed into my armour, a form of interdimensional tracking and transport device which allows humans, demons, and objects tagged with one to be retrieved from Hell remotely, without the use of a pre-existing portal between the dimensions. In theory, it should also work in The Upside Down.
By the will of the R.O.B who had set all this up, I had one and it could be triggered by me or VEGA if he lost contact with me. It should work in the Upside Down, but I wouldn't be able to bring anyone or anything back with me, not that I'd want to, and it needed to be recharged after use.
Before I could go charging into the shadowy realm of the Mind Flayer I encountered what seemed to be some sort of boss fight. There were no Demodogs here what I faced was a Demogorgon. Having watched the show I knew that they possess immense strength, enough to knock a door off its hinges with little effort and they could pin down an adult human with ease.
I also knew that their sense of smell is exceptionally potent, being able to detect a small amount of blood in this world from The Upside Down. Their skin is durable enough to withstand gunfire and numerous attacks dealt in melee combat so even with my weapons this would be a tough enemy to take down.
One of the few things shown to cause a Demogorgon any type of significant harm was being burned, but even then the creature was able to escape fairly easily and did not seem to be hindered by its injuries. To make matters worse I had no fire.
The Demogorgon that plagued Hawkins in 1983 could open its own inter-dimensional portals and appeared to possess some sort of limited telekinetic ability, this was most likely because The Mind Flayer was able to work its will through the Demogorgon.
Not that it seemed to care about fancy powers it might have as the monster charged me as I opened fire, blowing chunks out of the creature's torso as it rushed me. The bigger brother of the Demodogs hit me hard enough to send the weapon in my hands flying off into a corner.
This left the monster vulnerable to a physical attack for a moment and it soon found itself with a blade in its chest. Alas for me this just made the creature lash out in anger and I found myself staggering backwards. It wasn't strong enough to do any real damage to my armour, but the person getting knocked about while inside the armour was more fragile.
It charged and without thought, I did my best to protect myself so that the otherworldly lifeform and I ended up testing our strength against each other. I was already superhuman and the armour only enhanced me further yet it still to a lot of effort for me to rip the arms off the Demogorgon. Real-life was much messier than fiction and so black gore ended up spraying out.
I was not done yet and neither was my foe so I hit it with one of its own arms a few times before kicking in what passed for its chest. Once it was down I stamped on its freaking-looking head until there was nothing left other than mush. This took a while because it was a really tough monster.
Knowing that it still might not be dead I decided to go after the real boss before it could recover or more bad guys showed up. I might be too powerful for a Demogorgon to take alone, but the Mind Flayer would be something else and I could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, so it was good that I remembered to pick up my shotgun.
I took the time to have one of the drones take an arm of the Demogorgon back to the Fortress. I wanted a trophy of this battle to admire should I survive long enough to do any admiring.
"Yep, I must be crazy" I whispered as I ran into the Upside Down.
My reasons for doing this made some logical sense, but I could have just left this universe to its fate. I blamed myself I had a core of goodness in me as it was likely to get me killed.