𝘿𝙍𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 - Max Mayfield

56. Over and Over

After getting both Nancy and a half conscious Aiden out of the Upside Down, the group currently stood in Max's trailer, the sun now out.. Well,most of them stood. Max and Nancy were seated while Aiden was laid down on the couch,his head in Max's lap and his eyes closed. Nancy was currently explaining what they'd seen in the Upside Down and what Vecna and Orochimaru had shown her.

"When we found him, he was in the middle of a fight with Itachi and he was barely holding up," Nancy spoke. "but Aiden narrowly managed to win and I guess sent him back to the afterlife. Itachi said he had a gift for him and at first we didn't understand but-"

"He gave me his Sharingan" Aiden spoke up, eyes still shut. "I didn't expect it, but he did.. and even crazier than that; I can directly communicate with Minato Sensei now.. the same way I could communicate with Kakashi"

"Well that's great," Steve said. "We could use a little more ninja wisdom to know what the hell we're dealing with now"

"Yeah, about that..." Aiden started.

"They showed me things," Nancy said,her voice still shaky. "Awful things that haven't happened yet.. I saw a dark cloud spread over Hawkins, downtown on fire, dead soldiers, and two giant creatures.. one had a gaping mouth... And the other was a serpent,with about eight heads"

Aiden's eyes immediately snapped open

"Eight heads?" He attempted to sit up but was pulled back down by Max. His mind was already racing

'Oh,shit,this is bad...'

'The eight branch technique.. he's going to use it again?'

'Can he even contact Hajuka Sennin from here?'

'If he was able to summon Itachi's soul out of the Pure Lands, there's no reason why he wouldn't be able to reach her'

'If he's actually able to pull it off, Hawkins is done for.. fuck. Fuck!!'

Aiden's breathing began to quicken as the realisation dawned on him.

Nancy let out a breath before speaking again. "There was something else... There were gates, four of them.. spreading through Hawkins and just growing.. there were so many monsters invading Hawkins.. but not the Upside Down Hawkins, our Hawkins. Our home... I saw Mike, my mom, Holly..."

Her eyes turned to the boy who was laying down. "Aiden.. his was much worse"

Aiden and Nancy shared a look. The fact that she now knew made Aiden feel a deep form of guilt. He could see the fear and hurt in her eyes.. and it was painful to look at.

Aiden was fighting the urge to look away when he felt Max's hand slip into his.

"Four chimes," Max spoke up. "Vecna's clock always chimes four times. Four exactly.."

"I heard them too," Aiden said.

"So did I," Nancy said.

"Four chimes, four gates and four kills," Lucas said. "end of the world"

"Exactly... And he's only one kill away" Max said. "And it's either me or..."

"Me" Aiden said. "Think about it..if I'm gone he has his final kill and Orochimaru would immediately have access to my body. It's a safe bet that I'd be the one they're coming after"

"He's right..." Nancy pursed her lips to keep herself from breaking down again. "I saw him dead in that vision"

Aiden immediately got up from his ace a second time, going over to the 18 year old.