Chapter Fifteen
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Vecna's Lair

            Once Erica had given the gang her signal from the playground, Olivia, Steve, Nancy, and Robin crept inside the attic (or Vecna's Lair as Robin liked to call it) of the haunting Creel Mansion. Every inch of the mansion was dressed in the same slimy, snake-like vines and Olivia was careful with each step that she took with the help of Steve guiding her along the way.

            This was it. All they had to now was kill Vecna while Max kept him in his trance, and hopefully all of this would end once and for all. Just as they were about to turn around the corner to where Vecna's lair was, Olivia and Nancy pulled out their shotguns that were ready to aim and Steve grabbed his hammer that was poking out of his backpack.

All at once, the ground shook and dust began to fall from the ceiling. All of them fell simultaneously, but Steve held onto Olivia tightly to help keep her steady, as well as Robin and Nancy. Olivia shut her eyes out of fear and held onto Steve, preparing for the worst that was yet to come.

"O-olivia, watch out!" Robin screamed when she noticed a vine creepily wrapping around Olivia's foot.

            The vines thrusted Olivia to the ground and dragged her to the wall and they slithered around her arms, legs and the rest of her body, straddling her to the wall completely.

            "Steve!" Olivia screeched. "Robin! Nancy!"

            Terror filled Steve's eyes as he watched the girl of his dreams being taken away from him. Out of pure instinct, he immediately began to slam the vines with his hammer using all the strength that he had, not knowing what else to do. He couldn't let his fear get in the way, he had to save her because without her he knew that he would be nothing. Robin and Nancy joined his side, aiding in trying to free the vines from Olivia.

            Olivia tried to gasp for air, but that only seemed to make it worse as the vines gripped around her neck tighter. Robin was the next one to be taken by the vines, followed by Steve and Nancy with them being yanked to the wall just like what happened to her. Olivia tried to call their names but her voice was weak and her lungs were tight. She tried until her body eventually couldn't fight the unbeatable vines anymore and she was overcome by an eerie darkness.

𓆩♡𓆪

            Olivia hears the haunting grandfather clock chime four times again. She opens her eyes only to find that she in Vecna's hellish world again. Only instead of last time, she is tied to vines with no portal to escape this time. Her eyes grow three times as big when she spots Vecna hauling Max's body over his shoulder.

             "N-no, don't touch her!" Olivia screamed while trying to wriggle her way out of the vines. "L-let her go!"

             Vecna ignores Olivia's pleads and plops Max's body to the ground. As Vecna focuses on her with a terrifying stare, the vines crawl around her and began to lift her body up.

            "S-stop! Please stop!" Olivia cried.

             Vecna turns around and his menacing, beady eyes stare back at her. "You are so brave, Olivia. So, very brave. But you're too late to save Max."

            "N-no!" Olivia wept. "T-take me. Take me instead of Max. Please."

            Olivia was willing to do anything to save Max's life, even if that meant sacrificing herself to Vecna. She couldn't just stand there and watch Max die a gruesome death. Olivia loved Max like the little sister that she never had and she was far too young to die.

           Her sudden request seems to catch Vecna's attention as he walks closer to her, glaring intensely at her. "As tempting as your bargain sounds, I'd rather have you watch Max die instead," He sneered.

             Olivia flinches as Vecna turns back around to face Max again. Olivia weeps and cries out for her, feeling utterly helpless that there was absolutely nothing she could do to save her.

But as Vecna slowly approaches Max, Olivia hears a familiar voice that pulls Vena's attention away from Max.

"Papa is dead!"

"Eleven," Olivia whispered.

Olivia stares at Eleven in shock, wondering how Eleven could possibly be here. Her hair is buzzed again and her body is strung to the stained glass window by the moving vines with the broken pieces of the Creel house floating around her. For a second, Olivia wonders if El is even real and that this was some cruel, twisted mind game that Vecna was playing with her, but when Olivia sees the wicked scowl morphing on Vecna's face, it dawns on her that El was in fact, very real. El sends Olivia an assuring nod as if to say that it was really her before looking back at Vecna.

El quavers and there are tears brimming her eyes but she tries to remain calm. "I know what he did to you," She spoke calmly. "You were different, like me. And he hurt you. He made you into this. He is the monster, Henry. Not you."

Vecna steps closer to El. "You're right," He growled. "You and I, we are different. And papa did hurt me. But he was no monster. He was just a man; an ordinary, mediocre man. That is why he sought greatness in others. In you, in me."

Vecna reaches his long, bony fingers out and El trembles from his touch. "But in the end, he could not control us. He could not shape us. He could not change us. Do you not see, Eleven? He did not make me into this. You did."

            A shaky breath escapes Olivia's lips as she watches the scene unfold in front of her and a wave of defeat washes over her. Again, she tries to wriggle herself out of the vines but to no luck.

            "At first, I believe you had sent me to my death. To purgatory. But I was wrong. I was somewhere new. I became an explorer. An explorer of a realm unspoiled by mankind," He revealed slowly. "I saw so many things. And one day, I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential. To transcend my human form. To become the predator I was always born to be."

            "It was... i-it was you," Eleven stumbled over her words as her expression shifted to realization. "Always you."

            "All I needed was someone to open the door. And you did that for me. Without even realizing it, didn't you?" Vecna declared. "And when you did realize, you chose to resist. So I sought a means to open my own doors. I sought your power," He claimed, pointing to Eleven. "So don't you see? Once again, you have freed me."

            "You don't have to do this," El pleaded. "You can still stop this."

            "It is over, Eleven," Vecna stated hauntingly. "Your friends have lost. There is nothing... nothing you can do to stop this now. Hawkins will burn and fall. And the rest of this senseless, broken world and I will be there. I will be there to pick up the pieces when it does. And remake it into something beautiful. There was a time when I had hoped to have you by my side. But now I just want you to watch."

            Vecna draws his attention away from El and walks slowly back over to Olivia, glaring at her. "Don't be afraid, Olivia. Try and stay very still. It will all be over soon."

𓆩♡𓆪

Steve, Nancy, and Robin came clashing to the ground at once, finally free from the vines. The three of them slowly stood up, gasping for air. Steve froze when his eyes travelled to Olivia, who was released from the vines as well but her body remained unconscious.

            Nancy and Robin glanced over to Olivia with immense worry. "Is... is she...?"  Nancy didn't finish saying her question, not being able to say it for fear that if she said it aloud, her dearest friend would be dead.

            Steve immediately rushed over to Olivia's side to check her pulse and examined her for any injuries. "N-no... she's not dead. S-she's alive," He let out a sigh of relief and silently thanked the heavens above that she was okay. He held her close to him, caressing her cheek gently. "A few scars on her face... but other than that, she's okay. She's okay."

"Thank God," Nancy exhaled, putting her hand over heart.

"I don't believe in a higher power or divine intervention, but that was a miracle," Robin panted.

"Then we better not waste it," Nancy said determinedly.

Immediately, Steve picked Olivia up and carried her body over his shoulder. When they turned the corner and entered the attic, there hung an unconscious Vecna in all of his glory, strung by numerous vines. Robin set down her backpack and grabbed the two bottle of kerosene fuel that her and Steve prepared beforehand. She tossed one to Steve and used her lighter to ignite the fire.

The glass lit on fire and once he tossed it in Vecna's direction, he shielded Olivia from the burning flames. Vecna's entire body was erupted into flames and he was dropped to the ground by the vines. Robin lit the second glass bottle and flung it into the large fire that was now surrounding Vecna.

Nancy slowly glided towards him, aiming her gun carefully at him. The other end of the gun rested just barely on her cheek as she intently focused her aim. "This is for almost killing my friend, you asshole," She stated fiercely as she pulled her trigger. She shooted Vecna four more times until he finally crashed the bordered up window and fell out of it.

Steve moved Olivia from his shoulder so that he could carry her in his arms instead. Olivia's eyes slowly began to open and she gasped for air. Steve's eyes lit up and Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck. She was thankful to be alive, but she wasn't sure if she would ever be the same again. "S-steve..."

Steve smiled widely and leaned his forehead against hers while still carrying her. "Y-you were almost dead, Olivia."

"Yeah, you almost had us worried, Liv," Nancy agreed with a warm smile.

"I'm so glad you didn't die on us, because that would have like really, really sucked," Robin admitted honestly. Olivia was one of the only people who really knew the real her and accepted her for who she was. Olivia was her number one confidant and truest friend that she knew she could always count on. Robin wouldn't know what her life would be like without her, and she was so glad that she wouldn't have to find that out.

Because Olivia was alive. And she was safe now.

"I told you guys, you can't loose me," She smiled back.

Steve grinned and pulled Olivia into a loving kiss and passionate. When they pull apart, Steve put her down but Olivia's body felt weak as she tried to walk. Steve wrapped an arm around her shoulder, steadying her and preventing her from falling.

The four of them scurried out of the Creel home and worry flashed across Nancy's eyes when she sees that Vecna's body is missing from where he had fallen. The clock chimed again, and the gang rushed back inside the house, gathering around the old and dusty grandfather clock.

          Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

"Four chimes," Robin pointed out.

"Max," Olivia breathed. This was all her fault. It should have been her instead of Max. It wasn't fair that she survived, yet Max was still in grave danger. It wasn't fair.

The ground shook again and the house began to crumble. Old picture frames shattered, the walls tore apart, and dust fell from the ceiling. Olivia covered her head with her arms and Steve grabbed Olivia, holding her protectively and shielding her from any harm. The four of them clasped onto a post as they watch the Creel house exploding. It was as if the world was ending.

But then, suddenly, everything became still.

𓆩♡𓆪

The four of them made their way back to Eddie's trailer, but Olivia's heart shattered when she spotted Dustin a few feet away from the trailer, sobbing uncontrollably over Eddie's lifeless body.

Olivia immediately rushed over to him, and kneeled down next to Dustin with tears streaming down her face. "D-Dustin, what happened?"

Instead of responding, Dustin leaned into his sister's shoulder and cried. Olivia embraced him in a gentle hug, knowing how much Eddie meant to him. "H-he saved us all, Liv. He died saving us."

"E-Eddie...." Olivia wept quietly, hugging her brother. She leaned over Eddie and closed his eyes gently, just like she had done with Billy when he died, and she did this so that Eddie could rest peacefully. The two siblings stayed like that, crying in each other's arms until it was time to leave.