Joan slammed her calc book on the table.

"The walls behind you slam shut after your party enters the golden room, narrowly crushing Bol with its aggressive slamming. A feel of dread fills the human's and a soft chuckle airs from every direction around you, the timepiece warms significantly in reaction." Joan let out a chillingly soft chuckle as she dipped into Aevum's character effortless, glancing at each player with cynically, creating goosebumps and shivers on their bodies. "You've entered my world on your own accord, for what? To defeat me? My dear mortals, you are mistaken for I have already won!"

"And what about sleeping beauty over there?" Steve inquired to the group, bringing attention over to Joan whose head rested comfortably on Eddie's lap while he played with her hair, having put on the zebra scrunchy over his wrist to do so. "I still don't understand how or why we have our own personal Marty McFly."

"I think I can answer that." Joan spoke suddenly, sending everyone including Eddie into various stages of shock. Slowly she opened her eyes and smiled up at the metalhead, before sitting up and looking around at the baffled group of teens. "El says hi, by the way."

"El?!"

"Also, she thinks your plan is dumb, but respects your decision."

"What?!"

"Also..." Joan began before leaning over and whacking Dustin on the back of the head with a satisfying pop. "That's for calling me a dumb bitch and thinking I was asleep."

All at once questions began to fly her way and Joan considered them all, before waving her hands to grab everyone's attention. "No, no, no. You're not asking the right question!" She insisted, standing up with a grin.

"In 2020, I started writing a custom D n' D campaign centered around a time-traveling boss that I called Aevum Clemmons. Ironically enough, I named her that because my name means gracious and so does Clemmons and Aevum is another way to say age, or time." Joan explained rapidly to the group, feeling the time slipping from her every second. "Honestly it's a brilliant campaign and I'm really proud of it, but uh, not the time... anyways, look, I modeled Aevum around Kas and, uh, myself."

"I don't know if I should ask." Steve interjected with pain on his face and his palm over his mouth, uncovering it only to speak. "but who is Kas...?"

"Kas the Bloody-Handed was the most trusted lieutenant of the despotic lich Vecna, and wielder of the Sword of Kas." Eddie recited the lore with furrowed eyebrows, not even glancing away from the nearly vibrating Joan. "It's D lore. He eventually betrays Vecna, leading to his defeat..."

"Bingo! But in this campaign Aevum was a halfling who was promised peace by Vecna and was given the Hand and Eye of Vecna-"

"Oh my God, I-it's not a foot Steve, it was an eyeball." Dustin interjected as the puzzle pieces clicked in his mind faster and faster. "The journal-"

"-it's the Hand and Eye of Vecna." Eddie whispered out hauntingly, trying to disprove the theory as truth with whatever he could. He searched around frantically, because he was the story master and he knew how that story would go. "But you don't have the same powers-"

"But I'm here, aren't I? In the past talking to all of you with foreknowledge beyond any of you guy's comprehension." Joan stated confidently, glancing around before pausing and frowning at her still cuffed wrists. "and yet here I am, still cuffed. All this knowledge and for what?"

"...Cocky, just like him." Steve grumbled out and tried to keep up with the new information, but thankfully they had Dustin and Eddie already there. "Okay so t-there's a new monster-"

"Aevum, who is a version of the first Joan, my aunt-"

"-my actual sister--!"

"-more like the corrupted version of your sister." Joan correct, not noticing the crestfallen look that appeared over Dustin's face as she spun around to face Eddie.

"So, I'm still confused. What does the relic have to do with us?" Lucas asked and Joan turned to him with a nod.

"Right, well, Dusty, what do these items do?"

"T-they usually bind to the character, replacing an eye and hand, and gives them superpowers like super strength and--"

"-terrible visions." Lucas finished breathlessly and Eddie felt his heart lurch, because he knew. He knew and no one else was getting to the last page, to the final notes, no one was talking about the end. "So, that translates to--?"

"-time travel?" Max asked slowly and Joan bobbed her head in agreement. "Okay, so can't you just... go through time and stop this from ever happening?"

"No, she can't. Ever watched Back to the Future?" Robin mocked Eddie's words from earlier and Joan snickered, taking a seat beside the metalhead, frowning as Eddie ignored her presence by staring at his hands on the table. "Is that why you threw the bandages.. you knew?"

Steve looked alarm at that realization. "You knew I was going to be attacked and didn't say anything?! I could have di-!"

"I haven't seen everything and there's no way for me to actively seek through time." Joan hesitated, looking over at injured teen sorrowfully. "I-I wish I could do more, but all I saw was... you four and you all escaped alive. If I had jumped in that boat or took your place, someone could have possibly died."

"...Okay, so we have a seer." Dustin declared, looking over at his future daughter copy of his sister. "And not only does she know things, but she's proof that we make it out of here... alive."

And that was all that was needed to send a wave of relaxation throughout the trailer, until Robin piped in again with a curious question that Eddie already knew the answer to. "So, how do we stop Aevum?" But he knew by the smile on Joan's face that didn't quite reach her eyes that she was only going to tell half of the truth.

"By destroying it." Joan answered firmly.

"So, we go get the journal, burn it, and she goes away? For good?" Nancy asked for confirmation and Joan gave the affirmative sending the group diving into planning their attack on Vecna and subsequently Aevum.

When no one else asked her any further questions, Joan let out a sigh of relief that her acting skills finally paid off.

But frowned as Eddie paid her no attention.

"Help!" Joan hissed out at the group of teens inside the van, somehow the last person to jump through the window even though she had the biggest handicap of being handcuffed. Erica looked out at the girl with wide eyes before turning to the rest of the bus as Eddie started to finish hot-wiring the van.

"Uh guys, Joan aint in the van." Erica said slowly and everyone except the three in the front cabin snapped their head over to her in disbelief. "Y'all heard me? Joan aint in the van!"

Lucas and Dustin made eye contact before scrambling over to the open window where Joan was trying to jump up and grab onto the ledge, but was unable to do so from her predicament. Frantically, Lucas threw his arms out with Dustin to each grab an arm and tried to pull her up into the van, but just as they got her arms and head inside, the van sputtered to life and Robin was ordering someone to drive, drive, drive!

And Joan screamed as her legs hit the side of the van and made eye contact with Eddie, his own eyes widening in terror at the sight of Lucas and Dustin hanging on to the girl for dear life.

"Jesus Christ, Joan!" Eddie cried out and Steve glanced frantically behind his shoulder, panic filling him also at the sight of Joan only a third of the way in the vehicle. The metalhead pushed his way down the center of the van and grabbed Joan by the back of the shirt with two hands before yanking her with all his might, just in time as Steve made a harsh turn sending her tumbling into Eddie's arms.

"H-hey, come here often?" Joan joked weakly from her spot above Eddie using her elbows to keep her from falling fully on top of the shocked metalhead, but one sharp turn had her falling completely onto him with grunts from both parties. "O-oh god, I'm so sorry."

Just as she tried to get up, Eddie wrapped an arm around her waist and pinned her to his body, and they both immediately relaxed with the other. Joan rested her cheek on his chest, hands in front of her own chest, as she sighed at the warmth that he physically and figuratively provided.

And although he didn't say anything, the firm arms around her spoke volumes, making her feel safe for just a little bit longer until they had to get up. The others spoke around them in soft conversations, giving them the little privacy they could because if everything went to plan, they would never be able to grow old together.

So for those few minutes, they pretended that it was a lifetime.

"Hey, Joan?"

"Yeah butthead number three?"

"What happens when mom and dad leaves us alone for good? What if the next time they walk out that door they don't come back?"

"...well, I guess you'll just have to deal with me. forever."

—————

A/N: so we're coming up on the end. After next chapter I'll be posting the endings. Four chapters left woahhhh.

also, no I haven't explained too much about Joan's mental health in the story.

It's been a wild ride. love you