Eddie had only turned around for a few seconds, amazed at how this underground area can make it look like they were standing on the surface underneath a night sky. It took Menzoberranzan and made it look gorgeous and bigger. He had to wonder if this place had always been under the gift shop, or if the gates appeared recently. maybe that was what drove everyone to evacuate?

He turned to ask Lillian about her theories, but she was gone. This place was so vast, it was hard to imagine how she had disappeared so quickly. He hadn't gone far from the lift, and so he grabbed the flashlight from the ground. He might not need it right now, but he knew they were still underground, no matter how deceiving their surroundings looked. There was no telling what he would run into, and after everything he had been through, he was a little more conscious about being prepared.

"Lily?" he called out to her, but he was only answered with silence. Not even an echo. His heart raced with uncertainty and fear. Just when he had gotten her back, was he really going to lose her again?

He walked, and his boots found a peculiar, glowing fauna that spread more as he moved forward. A sign of life surely had to be a good thing, right? He cautiously followed the small sprouts of greenery on the ground. As he advanced, the shrubs necame thicker, and dense vines and foliage trailed along a cliff. Down below, he could hear the sound of running water. Was there a river down there? It was hard to see that far, and he wasn't about to get much closer to the edge to get a better look. Instead, he stepped back, following the plant path. The ground began to slope downward, and he treaded carefully, once again glancing at the starry, purplish canopy above.

He walked for a good ways before he found the first sign of anything manmade. There were stony columns up ahead - he counted six, although most of them were pretty well destroyed and supported nothing above them. Unsure of what he was looking at, Eddie moved closer. The earth beneath him was completely green, but he was certain there was stone underneath it, and not cave floor.

He stopped in front of what looked like an altar in the middle of the placement of dilapidated pillars. It was heavily veiled in the green growth, thorned vines entwining over one another with a blanket of leaves obstructing most of whatever was underneath. It was a gleaming silver, whatever it was, and it was undoubtedly being guarded.

Eddie tried to carefully pull at the leaves, but to his surprise, the green ropes suddenly moved, tightening around the mysterious item. This place, or at least, the foliage, had a mind of its own.

Realizing then that one of the thorns had scraped his hand in the process, he sucked the blood from his index finger. "Damn." It was like one of those paper cuts that weren't really deep at all, but wouldn't stop bleeding. He pulled off his jacket, trying again for the sterling treasure.

He would use the leather as a protectant, so that the thorns wouldn't cut him this time around. He tore at the vines, which seemed to fight him by tugging back. He growled, the sound becoming more of a shriek as one of the vines lashed out at him, slicing him across his left cheek.

"Shit," he snapped. A sharp, tingling sting spread across the side of his face. He could feel the blood trickling down to his chin, and it fell onto the vegetation. Then, suddenly, he watched as the plants crept away from the pedestal, revealing more and more of what laid on top of it.

It was a sword.

Eddie took a closer look. The hilt was made of a smooth, black metal, laced with an ornate, blood-red design. The blade itself was huge, about four inches wide and over twenty inches long. He gawked for a moment before he slowly reached for the hilt and grabbed it. There was no more fight from the vines, as if they were cowering from him now.

He understood it, the more he touched the handle. There was a reason the caverns brought him here.

Suddenly, a scuttering sound from behind him alerted him to turn around. He tensed, his grip tightening on his newfound weapon.

"Oh, hell no."

Eddie watched a giant silhouette climbing from the shadows, one, long appendage after another curling into view. It was an eight-legged freak that was the size of a fully grown, black bear. He hated spiders. Unnaturally large ones were even worse.

It made a horrible, screeching sound - something that resembled a fork scraping on a chalkboard, but amplified. He winced at the painful noise, but was quick to regroup as the giant, demospider came charging at him. He could see the giant fangs protruding from beneath its ugly, beady eyes. It was covered in short, black hairs, save for one spot between its front legs on its right side, where there appeared to be a scar where the hair refused to grow.

"Got a weak spot, huh?" He steadied his pose, ready to deflect the first strike of its leg. "Come on, you ugly freakazoid!"

The enormous spider seemed annoyed with him yelling at it, that it struck again, using its other front limb to stomp at him. Eddie fell backeards, just barely managing to dodge out of the way of the assault. He quickly rolled to his feet, swinging the blade at the monster. The sword was a lot more lightweight than he anticipated it would be, as if it was almost made for him.

With a sudden determination, he swung again, a little less clumsy than before. He was going to take this thing down if he had to, and he was going to find Lillian and get them both the hell out of here.

He had never been much of an athletic sort. He was always far too lazy for any of that. His skills resided with persuasion and survival - in a D and D sense. Thrice now, he was put directly into the line of fire. When he hid from Jason Carver and his jock buddies, he never knew how extreme it could get to be hunted. When the demobats came for him, he elected to fight them off as long as he could to allow everyone else a chance at beating Vecna. He had gotten lucky only because Lillian managed to find him and miraculously bring him back. Now, he was resurrected as a warrior.

He left the altar area with a bloodied sword in his hand. Behind him, the spider curled up on its back, a fresh, fatal wound taking the place of its old scar. A dying squeal filled its tomb.

Draping his jacket over his shoulder with his free hand, he made his way deeper into the caverns, where the sound of the underground river was getting louder. It took everything in his power not to feel overconfident right now. He took down that demospider all on his own, and he had the blood on his sword and his shirt to prove it. He couldn't wait to tell Lillian about it.

"Lily?" he called out into the darkening space. The further he went, the dimmer the sky above became. He set down the sword long enough to pull on his jacket again, which was scuffed up from the thorns he had used it against earlier. He grabbed the flashlight, wound it up, and continued on with the blade in his other hand. To his disappointment, there was still no sign of his girlfriend. He hated to think she might have gotten lost in this seemingly endless void.

Then, a scream pierced the air that was unmistakably Lillian's. He didn't even hesitate, like Nancy Wheeler jumping into the lake after Steve. He followed the sound straight ahead, calling out for her again, but this time, louder.

"LILY!!"

The flashlight showed the way as he heard the scream again, and it took him into a cave further ahead. Red fog enveloped the ground ahead, but he thought very little of it. She was definitely in here, but as he ventured in, he found it wasn't so simple as just following the path. The caves were like a maze, and any sounds that echoed easily left him confused as to which direction they were coming from.

"Get away from me!" she heard her demand angrily. Who was with her?

Then, a voice could be heard - Eddie couldn't exactly tell whose it was, but it was definitely a male speaking. He couldn't make out the words. He sprinted through the hollow, unsure of whether or not he should call out again. Maybe he could stealth-attack whoever or whatever was after her.

"You leave him alone, or I'll fucking kill you!"

"Is that right? I'd like to see you try."

Finally, Eddie came into a clearing. This chamber of the cave was huge - practically half the size of the cafeteria at Hawkins High School. At the far end were two figures. One was Lillian, whose back was currently against the wall, and she looked very uncomfortable. The other, sporting a white wife beater and torn, blue jeans, was unmistakable, despite the popular belief that he had been dead all this time. Had Lily not already explained to him that Billy had been her only company during her disappearance, he wouldn't have believed what he was seeing. He had her backed up against the rock, boxing her into it like a bully demanding lunch money.

"I have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone that harasses my little lady."

Billy's head slowly turned, a menacing and almost deadly look on his face. He was always an asshole, but Eddie had never seen him look so...evil. The Upside Down had done something... it darkened him.

"Can I level with you, Hargrove?" he went on, his every intention to just get him away from Lillian. "I never liked you."

"Oh. Good. I really needed a punching bag right about now." Just as he had hoped, Billy stepped away from her, and Lillian collapsed to the ground. He wanted more than anything to run over to her, to be there for her, but he had some business to take care of first.

Though he wasn't sure how he felt about his current weapon of choice. Giant spiders were one thing, but stabbing a human being? He wasn't feeling that much hate for the guy.

He set down the sword, leaning it against the wall behind him. "Let's do this. Mano a Mano."

The crimson fog filled all corners of the chamber, providing its own, dim light to their arena. Eddie set down the flashlight as well, waiting for Billy to move further into the room.

"Eddie, don't! He's not what you think..."

"Lily, trust me. I got this." As much as he wanted to boast about his conquest from earlier, now was not the time.

"Do you, Munson? You know what I see?" Billy sneered, his stare cold and merciless.

"Oh, please, educate me." Eddie gave a mocking bow, hands outstretched from his sides.

"I see the same freak I've always seen. A pretender. You're nothing more than a frightened, fearful, sensitive little boy who hides behind his vices when things get ugly."

His face was looking very punchable right now. Eddie's fists clenched up, and what started off as a rescue mission was rapidly becoming a school fight. Eddie let out a snort.

"Fucking pathetic, man. After all this time, you're still trying to be the alpha male?"

Billy swung the first punch, and Eddie barely managed to dodge it. He knew he would throw the first punch, and boy, did it feel good to duck in time. He liked to think it looked cool when he did it.

"Come on." He grinned, high as a kite from the rush of the brawl. "Hit me with your best shot!"

Billy tackled him to the ground, and for a moment, the room flipped upside down. Eddie managed to deflect a couple of the punches heading his way, but as one landed hard against his jaw, he felt his head rattle. He fought back, anger welling up inside of him like a lava flow that exploded into an eruption. He was not about to let this prick take her away from him. Billy had his sloppy seconds, and that was all he was getting.

"Eddie!" he heard her cry out. It gave him a second rush of conviction, and he put all of his weight into knocking Billy off and forcing him into the ground. He started wailing on him, both fists nailing the self-centered asswipe in the face over and over again until he felt satisfied. Blood covered his knuckles, and Eddie felt like a monster by the time it was over.

And it felt good.