A Fluttering Veil

Synopsis:   An AU Stranger Things fluff fit.  Spoilers for S4.  The void has been opened and Eddie survived the demo bat attack but now he has to have his name cleared.  Enter a fellow outcast and rebel with a heart of gold, Veil Ahibha.   This pic explains Eddie’s love of Chrissy and his newfound love of Veil.   

Chapter 1—Horrible Timing 

Dustin, Steve, Mike, El and the gang couldn’t believe their eyes.  Eddie, alone, had taken upon a cauldron of demo bats.   He had been wounded grievously but had been taken to the hospital and was recovering.   Unfortunately, he had been discovered and he had been put on trial for the death of Chrissy.    No one would listen to him when it came to his explanation, but he pointed above him at the void.   Not one person could simply dismiss the void or pretend it wasn’t there.   It wasn’t the after effects of a hangover or being high.   What they were seeing was perfectly real.    All Eddie wanted to do was graduate.   Given his adequate marks, he would finally be able to move beyond Hawkins and leave the small town for bigger and better things with his bandmates.    For now, he had a trial to attend.  

Veil Ahibha had arrived to the dour situation in Hawkins a day late and a dollar short.  She had originally come from India as a part of an exchange program between Indiana and India and Hawkins for cultural enrichment.   

‘I’ve seen the rifts and ripples in India before I arrived here.   Eddie was the first to greet me, and given our love of Dio, we became fast friends.’, she explained.   She befriended the group rapidly with her warm, altruistic personality and her quick wit.   It was  obvious that she was intuitive, an empath and could sense something was terribly wrong between the dimensions.   It was no coincidence her name was Veil, for she understood the metaphysical more than the average person.    

‘I may not understand entirely what’s happening, but the way you explained it makes everything coalesce.   All I know now is that Eddie needs more witnesses.   We have his uncle. He should take the stand as well.   He won’t go to jail.  Not on our watch.  He’s going to graduate, come hell or high water.’, she said.    The squad agreed, seeing that the trial was going to happen not too long before graduation actually happened.    They would have to put their fears aside for now, formulate a new plan on what they would do with El’s help and hopefully, make the town see Eddie for who he truly was.   

Chapter 2—Not Guilty, Still a Pariah 

It was a quick trial and an open and shut case.   Eddie had patched up his relationship with his uncle, which at first, was fractured at best.    Even though Mr. Munson had explained everything that had happened, some people thought he was a cult leader and that Dungeons and Dragons was satanic.   Snippets in papers and in high brow magazines seemed to agree that it could have a deleterious effect on its players, but Eddie and his crew knew differently. 

D&D had brought them together, and now he could see how well Veil had played.   He was beginning to like her quite a bit, and wondered if his fondness was turning in to something different.     To have that kind of fondness, however, felt wrong.   He felt guilty, like he was betraying Chrissy.      It had been Chrissy who came to him when she was escaping her overbearing mom and her twisted vision of beauty and what what her daughter could achieve for her.    

‘I’ve achieved what I never thought I could.   My dad didn’t even believe I could graduate.   My sights were set on loftier goals.’, Eddie said, during his graduation.   Everyone had decided to celebrate at the local arcade, which was adjoined by a Surfer Boy pizza parlor.  

Argyle wasn’t on the clock that particular day and he wasn’t back in Cali, but he was happy to celebrate with his new friends.    

The celebration was incredible, especially the Neapolitan ice cream.    

‘This kicks ass !   Thank you guys for everything.  I feel like a king today.’, Eddie said.   Veil looked him affectionately and he blushed.    It seemed Veil was going to be staying in Indiana since she felt a higher calling.  

‘We won’t be doing this alone, and I can help.   There’s a bigger threat coming and I can prepare us for it.’, she said. 

‘Woah, brochacho.  That’s something you don’t just say out the door.   That’s heavy.’, Argyle retorted, pensively.    In her visions, she saw a dragon.   She had taken martial arts since she was young, and she had the ability to heal as well as shield.    She had kept these abilities secret except to the team. 

‘Maybe you can help Max wake up.’, Lucas said, trying not to break down into tears. 

‘I have only done small-time healing.  Never a full-scale resurrection.   But I have been honing my skill for years.   We’re going to be stronger than ever.  We have to be against whatever will come for us across the void.’, she said.     Eddie felt his heart resound.   He didn’t care if most people hated him.   He would stay for the oncoming battle and save Hawkins, and the world with his buddies again.     

Chapter 3—Eddie’s Vision 

In the midst of preparing mentally and physically for the horrors to come, Eddie drifted into a deep, serene reverie.    At least, the dream itself was quiet and calm at the start.   It was Chrissy.   Beautiful, troubled, gentle and brilliant although to everyone else, she appeared as a slutty bimbo.    The drugs were her only escape and he had felt the pangs of guilt surrounding that.    He was no longer a supplier.   Since returning and being found not guilty he had left that old life and tainted self behind.     

Chrissy had come to embrace him and she surprised him with a soulful kiss.  

‘Edward, you have to let me go.’, she said.    No one called him ‘Edward’ unless it was serious.   He was always ‘Eddie’, nothing else.    

‘I can see how she looks at you.’, Chrissy said, gently.    There was no malice or judgement in the cheerleader’s chipper tone.   

‘That’s just it…I don’t know if I can give her what she needs.’, Eddie confessed, trying not to cry.    

‘You’re far from a coward.   You stuck next to my side, you fought with Dustin and now it’s time to come together with your friends again.   I guarantee you, Veil will emerge with you all to the other side.   The devastation will be grave all across the world.  Not just Hawkins.   Eventually, though, good will triumph.   You must stay strong.’, Chrissy said.    In this form, she didn’t seem broken or tortured.    She was in a pristine white cheerleading uniform, radiant, ethereal, beatific.    She had halo above her head, making her even more splendid and otherworldly than before.    Her light began to fill the room before he could ask her how they would defeat the coming dragon.    Eddie knew that he would have to start thinking with his buddies to formulate a plan.     Time was of the essence, because the very fabric of the natural and supernatural was beginning to merge.      

Chapter 4—Only Just Beginning 

Reluctantly, Eddie said his goodbyes to Chrissy.   He would still mourn her death but Veil was there with him now, helping him pull through.    She was his inspiration, his rock, his soft place to fall.     She was the ‘den mother’ of the group.  The ‘wise guru’ or ‘shaman’ that kept them all even tempered and collected when situations became unsettling.    

Looking up they could see the rift and the dark clouds gathering.   They had no idea what the Mind Flayer was up to, but it most certainly wasn’t anything good.    

           Epilogue 

Eddie had to admit that he was terrified.    The whole group was, but after Veil had seen Max, she had slowly awakened.    Her bones had begun to knit fully and she was completely healed.   Veil had literally brought Max back to life when she never thought it possible.   Max could fight alongside them, but like Will, she would know when the Vecna was about to attack.  Will could tell when the Mindflayer was close and when she would call her cronies to do her bidding.   

All the while Khalid Prassad could feel the pull of her fellow telekinetic sister Eleven calling to her.   

‘i’m not the only one.   There are two among you that are ready to awaken soon.’, she could hear the comforting voice of her friend 8 say telepathically.     Eleven knew, deep in the matrix of her heart, what that meant.    They would need all the psychokinetic that they could muster in this final battle.    The entire fate of our planet, nay the Universe, depended on it. 

To Be Concluded in Season 5