Months passed and Will was excited for tonight. Hellfire was going to end their Cult of Vecna campaign and he wondered just how it was going to turn out. Eddie was an amazing DM and he was very theatrical and funny too. Will was learning a lot from Eddie since he thought his dungeon master skills were good but they paled in comparison when it came to Eddie's skills. There was one wrinkle in his excitement however and that tonight was the Hawkins basketball game; not just any game but the championship. He was torn about not going to the championship game since Lucas would be there and he might play. Will worries about being an awful friend and really should think about convincing Eddie to postpone or move Hellfire. Though he knew Eddie, he wouldn't budge, more so since they would have enough members to play if Five wasn't working at the video store tonight. If by rare chance they had to, they would just need to find a sub. Will sighed in confusion and frustration as he was getting dressed and he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, breakfast is getting cold and we don't want to be late riding to school."

Will turned around and he saw Five hanging by his door. A small smile came across his face and it seemed that Five was always making him smile. Five could see past the smile and raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess, you're torn about tonight aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Five nodded and he sighed. Truthfully he thought it was a bit bad they all weren't going to support Lucas, he was a friend after all…well mainly to the others. Still, Lucas had made it clear that he was ashamed of Hellfire since he got on the basketball team. If that wasn't a big 'fuck you' to them all Five didn't know what was but he could see what Will was thinking.

"I understand what you're thinking. He's a friend and he along with the others helped you in your dark Upside Down saga…but he really hasn't been there for you, Mike, or Dustin for these past months. The practices I get, maybe some games too, but that doesn't excuse what he's done to us and Max."

Will sighed and nodded. He avoided them in school now, pretended they weren't friends when they talked, and he hasn't been a good boyfriend to Max. Skipping dates, letting the jocks talk bad about her and he doesn't defend her, and the fact he forgot about Valentine's Day was the final straw. He sits with Jason and the others and values being popular above anything else now, which was sad.

"I know but maybe if we can get Eddie to move Hellfire and go to the game, he may be back to himself that we supported him. He could play…"

"Yeah but that's very unlikely considering he's a freshman. Plus you know Eddie, he's not going to want to postpone this ending, not one bit. Besides…we are curious about the cult aren't we?" he expressed, grinning at the very end.

Will chuckled at that since despite how cool Five was he was a dork like himself deep down. That just made Will feel very close and strong to him, perhaps even stronger than Mike.

"How do I know you didn't just steal Eddie's notes while you tutored him so you know it? That sounds like something your character would do." Will accused with a laugh.

Five placed a hand on his heart and shared,

"Will that hurts, really it does. I like to think I am an honest asshole at times. But nah, Eddie's smarter than he looks, truly he is. Never brings his DnD notes anyway and his lips are tight about any plot points."

The laughter between them died down since they knew these days would come to an end, the time with Eddie in Hellfire. So long as he doesn't blow his last final, he would walk the stage and graduate. Even if he flunked, he would be kicked out of high school anyway but Five believed he was going to graduate. Still Hellfire wouldn't be the same without him and hence why Five and Will wanted to attend Hellfire tonight.

"I'm actually going to miss him when he graduates and I do hope his band gets somewhere. Not sure since his band name isn't one of the greats in my time, not sure they even existed. Then again my father wasn't a heavy metal guy and those records were not allowed in the house."

"Sounds like someone is close minded despite all his success and intelligence." Will told him.

Five nodded and he could hear Joyce calling for them. He motioned Will to follow and they sat down at the table to eat. Joyce was in a chipper mood as she gave a light hug to Will.

"Tomorrow's your birthday Will, are you excited?" she asked.

Will gave a weak smile but nodded. Joyce looked a bit confused and Five sighed. There's been little talk of his day with their friends and he worried about his day being overlooked or forgotten. If that happened, he would kick Mike's ass again for sure.

"I'm sure Mike, Lucas, and Dustin remember tomorrow's your birthday despite Hellfire and the championship game going on. El and Max know for sure and will come tomorrow to celebrate. I have some things and plans for you as well so be happy for tomorrow. "

Will blushed a bit at that since Five was always this chivalrous yet cool friend. He nodded at that and enjoyed his breakfast. Will grabbed his bike and Five took his skateboard and they rode to school together. It didn't take long for Five to master riding on the skateboard and it was truly thrilling whenever he rode on his board. It was such an amazing gift and he always thanked Max for it since it was amazing.

"I never get tired of this." Five expressed as he picked up a bit of speed.

"Just be careful though. I would hate it if you broke your knees or leg if something bad happens." Will worried.

Five felt a light flutter in his heart again and wondered why it was persistent whenever Will worried. I mean Max and El worried for him at times but he was still calm and not as flustered deep down.

"Nothing bad will happen, I can promise you that. Besides, if anything close to a collision or accident happens I can just get out of the way."

Will shook his head and chortled at that. Of course, he would blip out of the way to avoid any injury but even that could have its problems Will thought. They got to school and classes went on as normal. Five got a note from yet another girl in his math class asking for a date tonight and he crumpled it up. Maybe he should be wearing his Hellfire shirt to school and not just at campaigns he thought, he knew those shirts would be girl repellant. But then again, he didn't want to deal with the temptation of kicking every close minded ass or talking harshly to every ignorant asshole. That would get tiring and hence why he always decided against wearing the shirt unless he absolutely needed to.

When lunch rolled around, Five was a bit tuned out since he was more focused on tomorrow rather than tonight. He really wanted Will to have a good birthday and hoped none of his so called friends would forget. His eyes lingered a bit on Dustin as he was clearly trying to slowly ease Eddie into trying to move Hellfire and he scoffed.

"Quit while you're behind Dustin. You're not going to convince Eddie shit about moving Hellfire." Five interrupted.

Eddie raised an eyebrow as he popped another pretzel in his mouth and Dustin just froze in his tracks.

"Um…well….your campaign is sadistic and…"

Eddie looked to Five and he asked,

"Are you working tonight Aidan?"

"No, the manager knows I don't like working Friday nights. Even if I did work, I work small shifts. So I'm coming tonight."

Eddie grinned a bit and he motioned to Five.

"We don't need a sub since the minimum party I would suggest is six. With you, Mike, Gareth, Jeff, Aidan, and Will…how many would we have?" Eddie questioned.

Mike groaned and he stared down Five from across the table. He knew he only tolerated Lucas and himself for Will and they weren't friends like the others in the party were. He was only doing this to be an asshole and Mike loathed Five's charm and attitude.

"But Lucas would really like to make this campaign but it's the championship game so he doesn't want to miss it even if he doesn't play. He wants to be with the basketball players tonight because it's the big game." Mike defended.

"And that's the point. He's made his choice and yes, us postponing would be nice for all of us to support him…he hasn't really been there for us lately. It's mainly been Aidan and Eddie helping us with bullies, not him. He's not with us as far as I am aware of and I just hope he's not abandoning us completely." Will expressed back at Mike.

Five liked that Will was being a bit more assertive and really listening to his gut and emotions. Will knows a lot more than what Dustin and Mike comprehend, especially with bonds and relationships. If Lucas finds the game and being popular more important then the rest of them do, maybe he was making the wrong choices.

"If Lucas wants to conform and abandon us, let him. He's been avoiding us lately, embarrassed even if I may add, so we really shouldn't let him postpone Hellfire if he wants to be popular. The dark side clearly took him." Eddie stated.

"Eddie come on…please consider moving Hellfire." Dustin begged.

Five scoffed at that notion again and bit into his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich.

"It's not going to happen Dustin. We all know that it's not happening. But hey, aren't you glad I give a shit about Hellfire? I could have honestly been working all this time during Hellfire since Friday is a pretty big movie night for people. You could have been up shit's creek tonight trying to find a sub. However, I care about Will and all of you and the game itself despite what Mike clearly thinks. So be thankful it doesn't get moved and let Lucas learn a very hard lesson about friends and popularity." Five told them.

Eddie grinned and ruffled a bit of Five's hair.

"Such a noble man to the Hellfire cause…if only you wore the t-shirts during school though." he mused.

Five chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah well then I would be in detention a lot for shanking people in the ass with whatever I can find or beat the shit out of them if they so much as talk shit about me in the shirts. I have a bit of a temper." Five mused back.

Eddie laughed at that since Five was a little spitfire and a real hardcore bad ass. He was amused about him shoving items up bullies asses but hey it would hurt like hell. Still Eddie did wonder something about Five and his…interests since girls flock to him despite Hellfire and yet he wasn't impressed or charmed. Jeff and Gareth found it amusing, Dustin was kind of humored if disturbed by Five's words and Mike was straight up horrified but Five shrugged it off. He meant his words, especially since he wasn't completely used to dealing with other people.

"I will not be hurt by meaningless assholes nor would I want you all to be either. I don't know, chalk it up to my egotistical hero complex or show off nature." Five expressed nonchalantly.

"Yeah, we'll just show up tonight. I hate it that Lucas is standing us all up so you have to show." Mike expressed.

Tonight's Hellfire campaign was truly an ominous and perilous one. The characters of the Hellfire members were weakened and everyone was hanging on Eddie's words. Will sat near Five and he carefully looked at the map. He could already see there were going to be many cultists at this battle and he knew there had to be a boss to end all bosses.

"What are you thinking?" Five whispered as Eddie read from his playbook.

Will glanced at Five and he was a bit distracted by how warm Five's eyes looked tonight. Were they always this warm or did the lighting of the lights at Hellfire make them almost amber looking and soft. He gathered back his thoughts and focused on the board.

"We're going to be outnumbered clearly but the cultists are clearly being led by someone…someone powerful." he whispered to Five.

Five noticed this too and nodded in agreement. He will have his character play a bit of a stealth game and attack from a distance. Only when the enemies are weak enough would he have his character come up close for the kill.

"Stay by me, we make a good pair as previous campaigns show. Aidan the Adventurous always needs Will the Wise close by." he smirked.

Will nodded and kind of felt his throat dry up. Moments like this showed just how charming Five could be and he seemed much older than 14. He snapped out of his thoughts and focused as Eddie spoke in a low chilling voice,

""The hooded cultists chant, 'Hail Lord Vecna. Hail Lord Vecna. They turn to you, they remove their hoods. You recognize most of them from Makbar. But there is one you do not recognize. His skin shriveled, desiccated, and something else. He is not only missing his left arm, but his left eye!"

Most of the guys were in disbelief and were calling foul that Vecna was alive. Five however rolled his eyes at Jeff, Dustin, and Mike's outcries and simply stated,

"Seriously, you didn't see it coming? Who else would these fucking cultist be loyal too? As for being killed by Kas…well yeah that did happen but maybe he still attained god like powers to revive him. That or Eddie pulled this out of his ass."

"Hey you watch your tone Adian the Adventurous! I'm the Dungeon Master and I can make things that much harder for everyone. But so it was thought he was dead, so it was thought. But Vecna lives!" Eddie exclaimed, putting the Vecna boss piece on the board.

Most of the others looked a bit shaken by the realization but not Five. He was going to fight no matter what everyone else decided. Will saw Five's determination in his eyes, a determination that looked to set his brown eyes ablaze. He felt Five's intensity and he wanted to see this campaign too.

"You are scared, you are tired, you are injured. Do you flee Vecna and his cultists? Or do you stand your ground and fight?" Eddie spoke calmly.

Five scoffed playfully and looked to the others.

"I'm fighting to the death. We can take down Vecna and the cultists. No way we should back down now." Five told them.

"It's suicide!" Gareth told them.

"It's not if we are smart about this Gareth. Now who else is going with me or is everyone going to be a fucking pussy and run." Five goaded.

Eddie loved Five's snark as it was passionate and he wanted to see this game though.

"So will you let Aidan venture alone to his death or will you band together and fight." Eddie asked once more.

Will smiled and glanced at his piece that was near Five's.

"I've gotten this far with Five and we've made it out of intense raids…I'm fighting even if it's to my death, I'm going to fight." Will shared out.

Five patted Will's shoulder comfortingly and he looked at Dustin and Mike. Dustin nodded in agreement

"Yeah I say we fight to the death." Dustin stated.

"To the death!" Mike agreed.

Everyone else agree and the fight would commence to Eddie's pleasure. It would all be down to luck and dice rolls to determine if they will truly be victorious. At first it was going well as dice rolls were in their favor and the cultist pieces were going down. Disaster started to strike as Mike didn't get a high enough roll and his character fell to a cultist strike. Eddie seemed to feel slightly bad but still observed the downward spiral of the party. Jeff was the next to lose and Eddie slapped his piece off the board in a ruthless manner. Gareth's piece fell and Dustin sadly was lost to Venca's strike. Will and Five were all that remained and they looked at each other with a determined look. They meant what they had said before, they were going to fight and they were going to take down Vecna no matter what the others tried to do to talk them out of resuming. Five was running the numbers in his head on Vecna's health, their combined health, and what skills and rolls they needed to kill Vecna. Vecna had 15 and he and Will had 14 hit points between them.

"What's our best move?" Will asked as Five worked through the numbers in his notebook.

"If I may interject. Whilst I respect the passion Aidan, you'd be wise to take Gareth the Great's concern to heart. There's no shame in running. Don't try to be heroes. Not today, k?" Eddie said with a slight smugness in his voice.

Five shook his head and chuckled.

"Impossible to say since I've been one all my life and I see a way for Will and I to win. So let me just think for a moment." Five told him.

Mike sighed as he motioned the board.

"There's no way Aidan. Stop being stubborn and just run." Mike expressed.

Will shook his head at that and looked at his spell sheet. There was a fire spell that, if combined with stat distributions and high enough, can kill Vecna, but more damage needed to be done. Five as if he read his mind knew he needed to roll first and damage Vecna enough for Will to do the finishing blow. Five and Will agreed on the strategy and pressed on. Five rolled first and he did land a 13, leaving Vecna weakened but still alive. Eddie rolled for Vecna and left Five's character with 1 hit point remaining. It was all up to Will as he nervously took the die and rolled with shaking hands. The die rolled on, and on, and on until it settled on a number everyone wanted to see, 20. Five grinned at that and put an arm around Will in excitement and pride.

"Crit hit! Vecna's dead!" Five exclaimed happily.

Will was in disbelief at first but it finally hit him on what happened and he excitedly hugged Five.

"We did it, we all did it! He's dead! Vecna's dead!" Will chimed happily.

The guys were congratulating and celebrating the victory, with Eddie grinning happily at how this campaign came to a close.

"And that's why we play!" Eddie expressed warmly as he bowed with outreached hands to the players.

Will and Five left Hellfire afterwards and Five made sure they were alone before he blipped them back to Will's house. He and Will rested back first on Will's bed and were still feeling the rush of the game they had just finished.

"That was pretty cool." Five commented with a light smile.

Will mused this and asked,

"You've taken down real monsters and bad guys though. This game was exciting to you?"

"Will, you know that every time we play it's fun. Not everything has to be life or death and I want to branch out. Still don't think we would have won without you. Your fire spell was what did Vecna in; luck is finally on your side again." he spoke warmly.

Will blushed at that and nodded in agreement. He's felt that way ever since Five and him became friends and they were doing a lot together. Will hoped Five would remain his friend but he knew deep down Five perhaps was finding a way home.

"Are you okay?" Five asked.

Will snapped out of his thoughts and let out a small yawn.

"Yeah, I must be more tired than I thought. Five nodded and got himself settled on the floor of Will's room in his sleeping bag, quickly changing into his pjs as Will did as well.

"Night Will. Sleep tight ok, tomorrow's going to be a big day."

Will smiled at that as he got himself settled into bed. He glanced down to Five who was already asleep and Will wondered what Five had planned and gotten him for his birthday. Above all us, he was just thankful Five was a good friend and that he was becoming a much better person by having met and became friends with this boy out of place in time.