Steve opened his eyes to brightness. He shielded his eyes, his sight adjusting quickly, allowing him to look around at his surroundings.

Within seconds he knew that this wasn't the boathouse. It was Brenner's lab.

Steve could see the clear cage standing tall behind him, a hose already attached to the ceiling, tables and clipboards and charts covering every surface. He ran his hands through his hair, feeling the soft strands and thankful that it was all still there.

So, this wasn't a nightmare. Then, what was it?

"I must say, your mind has always amazed me, Nineteen."

Steve turned towards the voice, scowling when he saw One, the other man standing calmly, his hands tucked behind his back.

"You must love reading my mind, don't you? Throwing me into this stupid mindscape thing just to bother me?" Steve asked, his hands clenched into fists, and One smiled.

"I don't read minds, Nineteen. I experience them. I know everyone's greatest fear, their trauma, their pain. I know Twenty's, Eleven's, yours, Chrissy's."

"So, it was you. You killed her."

"Yes. It's a shame that you weren't there to experience it. Her death will mean everything to us, in time."

Steve raised his fists, as if he was going to attack One, but he didn't make a move to do so. One laughed coldly, shaking his head and beginning to pace around Steve slowly.

"Why did you do it? She had a whole future ahead of her!" Steve yelled, rage filling his stomach, burning in his heart, but One had no reaction.

"Her time had come, and so has everyone else's."

"How many more people are you going to kill? How evil are you? You've killed a teenager, who's next? A child? A baby?"

"That doesn't matter to you. What you should be focusing on is the decision that I told you that you had to make. Are you ready to make it?"

Steve screamed with rage, running towards One with all of the energy he had. With one swing of the fist, Steve aimed high, slamming One in the nose. Yet, again, there was no reaction. With a quick gesture of One's hand, Steve began floating in the air, his limbs stuck and his breathing harsh.

"You have no chance to defeat me, Nineteen. When are you and your friends going to realize that?"

Steve struggled against the hold he was in, hoping that Robin would magically hear his thoughts again, hoping that she would come and save him. Yet, Steve didn't have much hope. One was strong, stronger than any of them knew, there was no way Robin was going to be able to come again.

What was the limit to One's power? Was there a limit? Could they even defeat him?

"You may not see it now, but all of these deaths will save humanity. Cleanse every human, every man, woman, and child, of the endless cycle they were placed in. A cycle you're stuck in, Nineteen."

"You're crazy." Steve breathed. "Brenner must've really messed you up."

"I would advise you to be quiet." One said, and Steve felt a pressure build around his eyes, as if something was on the inside of his brain, ready to suck his eyes in.

Hadn't Eddie mentioned something about Chrissy getting her eyes sucked out?

Steve felt hopelessness bury itself in his gut.

Oh.

Vecna was going to kill him, like he did Chrissy, like he did the other person that he still didn't know the name of.

But, wasn't this all in his mind? Would he die in real life? Was he dying right now?

"Brenner only made me stronger. He made us stronger than what we could've hoped to be." One continued, his eyes reflecting the cold rage that Steve had grown to hate, to fear. "So, I ask you, as a brother, will you help me bring the new beginning?"

Steve remained silent, resisting the urge to scream at the pain building in his head. He briefly wondered why he felt pain, but he knew that he was in the stupid mindscape again, he had no clue how his powers worked here. If they even worked at all.

"There is one whose death is getting closer." One explained, seemingly ignoring Steve's obvious discomfort, "You will be able to save her, delay the inevitable, but don't. Saving her will mean that you, and all of your family and friends, make an enemy of me, and all of your deaths will be slow and painful. You will watch your home burn, and be reborn in the world of my own."

Steve, despite the pain he tried to fight, began connecting the dots, dots that had been placed by many, yet was finally painting a picture that made sense. One was cursing people, he admitted to the deaths, and the only other world they knew of was the Upside Down. That meant that One was in the Upside Down, confirming their theories. Steve couldn't help but find a bit of relief with that knowledge. At least he knew something now, but he knew that he could die along with that information. That thought wasn't comforting in the slightest.

"The…the Upside Down? You're there?" Steve gasped out, and One nodded.

"Yes. I won't be for long. The question is, what will you do? Save the next victim, or let her die?"

Steve let out a harsh laugh. "Save her. I'll never help you."

One let go his hold on Steve, making Steve fall to the ground, gasping, holding his head, trying to get rid of the pain that resided there.

"Then, Nineteen, you are now my enemy. I hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but you leave me no choice. Your death will be slow and painful, and I'll make sure that your friends and family will be around to watch. And, take my advice?" He kneeled closer to Steve, his face as calm as ever, "Be careful out there."

Before Steve could reply, he blinked, jerking awake back in the boathouse, the lab and One gone. He felt blood run down his lip, and he stopped the flow with his sleeve, breathing heavily.

He felt a calming peace wash over him, stopping his harsh breathing and bringing it back to normal, but his mind still raced with thoughts, thoughts of what One had said, who he was going to kill next, and how in the world would Steve be able to prevent it? What was One going to do to him, now that he had refused to obey him? Who was his next victim? A girl, Steve knew that it was a girl. That didn't really narrow it down, but it was something.

He sighed, resting his head on the back of the wall. He gave Eddie a quick glance, thankful to see that he hadn't woken up, and mulled over what One had said.

Was he saying that he was going to bring the Upside Down into Hawkins? But, how was that even possible? What power did One have to do that?

A sound cut though the silence, like a low roar, parched and scratchy. Steve's eyes widened as another one echoed around them, louder this time, and he racked his brian trying to figure out where he had heard it before.

He could hear low growling come from outside of the boathouse, and then he knew.

Demodogs.

"Eddie!" Steve whispered harshly, rushing over to the older teen and shaking his shoulder. Eddie screamed, swinging out with the glass bottle he was still holding, and slashed Steve right in the cheek. Steve barely reacted, not feeling pain at all, and held his hand over Eddie's mouth, raising his finger above his own lips. Eddie's eyes were wide, but as Steve shook his head, silently encouraging him to stay quiet, Eddie seemed to relax a bit.

"Monsters." Steve whispered, lowering his finger. "Outside. Demodogs, like a Demogorgon, but smaller and faster."

Eddie nodded shakily, no doubt confused and scared, and Steve moved his hand away from his mouth, allowing Eddie to begin muttering under his breath.

"Hey, hey! Calm down and stay quiet! Grab an oar and stay behind me."

Eddie shut his mouth and set the bottle down, taking Steve's advice and grabbing an oar. Steve took it from him, snapping parts of the blade to make the wood like one large spear, the wood at the end of it sharp and uneven. Eddie flinched at the noise, but silently handed Steve another one without question. Another roar made him jump, and Steve could tell that Eddie had begun shaking.

"It sounds like there's only three of them." Steve whispered, proceeding to snap the other oar, "We can take them, but if all else fails you have to run while they're distracted."

"Distracted?" Eddie whispered back, his voice harsh and panicked, "Are you planning on letting them eat you, Harrington?"

"Not planning on it, but they won't be able to hurt me. I'll be like a chew toy for them, if it comes to that."

That shut Eddie up, either from shock or fear Steve didn't know. Steve took a deep breath, walking towards the door. As if it knew that they were ready for them, one of the Demodogs began clawing at the door, snarling. Steve readied himself, getting a good grip on his makeshift weapon, wishing that he had his bat with him, and opened the door a crack, shoving his spear through the crack quickly and hearing a high pitched whine.

As if a dam had been broken, the door was smashed through, sending shards of wood raining down on them, and Eddie screamed. A Demodog, now bleeding dark, black blood, jumped on Steve, shoving him to the ground, but Steve managed to get his spear under his arm, allowing the Demodog to fall right onto it. The monster screamed, scratching at Steve's chest with its sharp claws, and Steve yelled, throwing it off of him and to the ground. Eddie ran forward with a battle cry, stabbing it once more with his own spear, and it finally went motionless.

Both of them were panting, eyes wide with adrenaline, Eddie's with fear, and Steve got to his feet. He could see another two running towards the door, their flower faces covered in drool and another liquid that Steve didn't want to think about.

"I can't do this. I can't do this!" Eddie said, pacing around and grabbing his hair frantically. "We're gonna die. We're totally going to die, this is not cool at all, dude!"

"Just get ready and follow my lead." Steve replied, quickly scrambling into the boat and standing on the seats. "Higher ground."

Eddie scrambled up beside him, holding his oar in a death grip, his breathing panicked, sweat making his forehead shine in the moonlight. Steve briefly wondered if he looked at all what Eddie did, but the thought was dismissed when the Demodogs reached them, the biggest of them jumping right at them. Eddie screamed, stabbing at it with his oar, and Steve proceeded to stab at its side, making it howl.

"Keep on stabbing it!" Steve yelled, thrusting its weapon into its side again. "These things have thick skin!"

"I'm trying, Harrington!"

Eddie jumped as the other one pounced, nearly reaching Eddie's legs, but Steve managed to grab its head and pull it to the ground, the boat rocking as he did so, making Eddie nearly fall with them. Luckily, he managed to stay upright. Steve knew that if the metalhead fell on the ground it would be game over for him. But, thankfully, Steve could take it.

Steve struggled on the dirty floor, losing his grip on his spear and choosing to grab the Demodog by the mouth, pulling at its petal-like flesh, pushing the monster away as it trashed in his grip, eager to kill him. He could hear Eddie struggling behind him, and the other man's scream made Steve flinch. He lost his grip on the monster, and it bit him in the shoulder. Steve could feel the impact of its teeth on his skin, but it didn't hurt as much as he expected it too. Rolling it over, Steve pulled it away from his shoulder and grabbed its neck, slamming it into the floor. Scrambling for his spear, he managed to grab it, and stabbed it right through its mouth.

Like the other Demodog, it didn't take too long to go still.

Steve didn't take in his victory, and instead rushed to get back to Eddie. Turning his head, he saw that Eddie had already gotten the Demodog on the ground. It was twitching, the neck of the glass bottle in Eddie's hand, shards of glass sprinkled on the ground.

Eddie stood there in shock as Steve proceeded to kill the monster with his spear, both of the teens breathing heavily.

After taking a quick look around, listening for any more Demodogs, Steve was relieved to find that there were no more, at least not for now.

He took a quick second to look over Eddie. He was terrified, shaking, his eyes wider than Steve even thought possible. Steve's jacket, the jacket that Eddie still wore, was tattered, covered in rips, and some of Eddie's clothes underneath was damaged, too. Steve stepped forward when he saw some blood trickling down Eddie's arm. Steve didn't know if Eddie had realized that he was injured or not.

"Munson? You good?"

Eddie nodded hesitantly, and Steve took his arm gently, making Eddie flinch.

"It's okay." Steve said carefully. "I'm going to take a look at your arm, okay?"

Pulling up the layers of fabric on Eddie's arm, Steve sucked in a breath as he saw a huge bite mark, bleeding sluggishly.

"It…it doesn't really hurt." Eddie said weakly, and Steve nodded.

"It's probably shock, or adrenaline. Sit down, won't you?"

Eddie flopped onto the seat of the boat instantly, his face pale in the moonlight, and Steve found a semi-clean cloth to use as a bandage. He could tell that Eddie was eyeing the Demodogs on the ground, and then eyeing him. Steve didn't have to wonder why. He could tell that he took a beating, his clothes probably looked like they had been used as a cutting board, but he didn't feel any pain anywhere.

Yet, exhaustion greeted his mind and body, making his vision go slightly blurry. He breathed through it, focusing on the task at hand. He had to close his eyes occasionally, to make the dizziness go away.

Why was he like this? Why was he so tired all of a sudden?

He remembered saving Tom, having to stop the bleeding of a bullet wound, saving his life despite how much he had already done the day they took down Brenner's base. How he had barely eaten or drank anything before, how it nearly killed him.

When was the last time he ate something? The morning before his shift at Family Video? That was nearly 20 hours ago, at least.

"H一Harrington?" Eddie stuttered out, and Steve looked up, his widening as Eddie had gotten even more pale. "I…I think I'm gonna…"

Steve jolted to his feet, rushing to grab a bucket, and managed to get it in Eddie's hands right in time. As Eddie puked, a horrible, gut-wrenching sound that Steve didn't want to hear again, he fell back to the ground, resting his head on the floor beside one dead Demodog. He pushed it away, closing his eyes, and breathed heavily.

He didn't know how long he laid there, or how long Eddie puked for, but the sounds eventually stopped, flinging them back into the uneasy silence.

"Harrington?" Eddie croaked, and Steve could hear him get up and shuffle towards him.

"Yeah, Munson?"

"Do…do you need help?"

Steve opened his eyes to see the other teen holding out his hand, and he took it, letting himself be pulled to his feet, the world spinning as he did so.

"Thanks, um…some water would be really good now, too."

Eddie gave him a small smile, kindness and understanding reflected in his eyes, and Steve found himself grateful for it.