Chapter 126: The Real (Memories of You)

Forty years later...

It had been nearly fifty years since Spider-Man and Silk had become heroes loved by millions worldwide. However, despite their symbols being immortal and living on through their children who were having children of their own, the heroes themselves did not share that same luxury.

Cindy Parker had been diagnosed with cancer at the age of seventy-eight years old, something she didn't see coming. It was quick, blindsiding everyone in the family.

Cindy Parker, aged and withering, was seen surrounded by family and friends inside her hospital room, laying in her death bed. It was her final day to live, so everyone was there to see her off.

Of course, Eren Parker was there, holding her hand while sitting on her bedside while their two kids stood beside him with their hands on his shoulders. Eren was always emotional, even as a child. The pain resonated from his body like an aura, that pain in his eyes spoke volumes to everyone in the room.

The love of his life would soon be taken from him and the dream would end.

On the other side of the bed, their three grandchildren, who were adults at that point, knelt down at her bedside and held her other hand.

Her friends Liz and Lily were in attendance as well, along with their kids and grandkids who were considered to be her nephews and nieces due to how close they were. Felicia had long passed, having already reached her eighties before everyone in the room, but her son was there with his daughter, who looked just like a mini version of Felicia.

"Everyone's here to see you off, my love." Eren told her with his old, weak voice. "Are you ready to go home?" he asked her.

"Yes. I'm ready." she told him, figuring he meant going home to the afterlife.

"Everyone, say goodbye to her." Eren told everyone in the room before everyone said their heartfelt goodbyes.

"Bye, mom. We love you." Albert told her.

"We love you so much. You're the best mom anyone could've ever asked for." Mary added.

Everyone in the room added on, saying their goodbyes to her before all that was left was Eren Parker. He grabbed her hand tightly and said his final words to her. "Goodbye, Cindy. I'll see you soon." as those words left his lips, Cindy's eyes began to shut slowly.

.

.

.

Just a few minutes later, they opened again. She found herself back on the roof of Oscorp, all those years ago with Eren Parker and his doppelgangers. "Hey." Eren told her.

"What... but we- we..." Cindy was confused. For her, she just lived an entire lifetime, yet she was back where the beginning of their life together started.

"I know you said to me that when Mysterio offered to give you a dream of your ideal life, you declined it. You said that you didn't want to live in a world that I wasn't experiencing alongside you. Well, I was there the whole time...

I know it's selfish, but I wanted to live a full life with you, one where we could be together and be happy because... Well, we aren't getting that. I'm sorry." Eren felt incredibly guilty lying to her in the way that he did, but he wanted that reality of theirs to at least feel authentic for her.

"So none of it was real..." she muttered.

"I'm sorry, but no. It felt real, and I guess, it was real in our heads. But in terms of it being real in the sense of the space-time continuum, no. It was not. I'm sorry-" Despite Eren feeling as if he did something wrong, Cindy hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." she whispered. "It was all so beautiful. The wedding, our kids, growing old with you... it was everything I always wanted. Thank you for letting me experience it, even if it wasn't real in terms of the space-time continuum or by the laws of nature, it was real enough to me. The memories of you are all still here. In terms of me, Cindy Moon, it was real. Thank you."

Eren felt relieved to hear that she didn't hate him after all of that. "Thank you for letting me live a life with you."

"So does that mean... you aren't going to be here anymore?" Cindy asked him. There was a reason why he didn't just simply live a real life with her.

"Yeah... my plan ends in two ways. I live and everything is fine... or my body completely dematerializes and I become pure Godspeed energy. Based on my calculations anyway. If the latter happens, well, I wanted to make sure I got to live a life with you first.

My plan required a Godspeed battery of some sort, but I don't have the means to make that. I realize now that I have a few batteries right behind me. With these guys, I can build up enough energy to make this thing implode, but if I do that, as I said, there are two possible outcomes.

Now that Venom has no host to get through the barrier, he's completely locked out and he also can't run. That was the big issue with this plan before. As you know, he can jump through time and I only have one shot at this. Without a host, he doesn't have access to my abilities, he's just a sludge monster. Now he's stuck here. Harry knew this when he sacrificed himself... Now it's my turn."

As Eren explained it, tears started falling from Cindy's eyes uncontrollably. "Don't go..." she muttered, knowing that her words were meaningless. It didn't matter what she said, he was going to sacrifice himself.

"Uh... guys..." the Phantom Spider said, pointing to the symbiote outside. The two Venom symbiotes were starting to absorb the other minion symbiotes into its body, forming one massive kaiju-like being with two heads.

"We don't have much time." Spider-Man lightly pulled Cindy off of him before looking at his past selves. "Listen to me carefully. There are blueprints inside Oscorp that can tell you all how to make this machine. When you get back to your timelines, make this machine when you have the time. It was originally created to create two barriers, one that protects Oscorp and one that protects the outside world from the city. We are going to overload it and cause it to implode, wiping out every last symbiote.

Of course, in your timelines, you won't have the means to have five guys sending their energy to you, but I have a solution. Once I'm gone, if I die, you guys will need to create Godspeed batteries for yourselves to give you enough power to bring yourselves back to your timelines. Once there, you will use that battery to override the machine when the time comes."

The massive symbiote kaiju began approaching Oscorp, prompting Eren to end his instructions there. He looked at Cindy one last time and pulled her in close before kissing her one last time. "I love you, Cindy."

"I love you too, Eren. So much." She tried her best to hold back her tears but they kept flowing despite her efforts. Unlike the first time he died, she wasn't going to give up this time. She was determined to continue living, even if it meant doing so all alone.

"Alright guys, let's get this done." Spider-Man said before placing both hands on the machine. One by one, the other Spider-Men approached him and placed their hands on his back. They began expelling their energy into him, causing a bright aura of blue mixed with black to surround his body.

With the six Spider-Men's energy going into him, Spider-Man poured it into the machine and caused the barrier around the city to implode. Just like in his shared dream with Cindy, every single symbiote began to disintegrate and remove itself from all of its victims, its warmth bringing comfort to those who finally regained their humanity.

Things weren't all sunshine and rainbows as a lot of the people who were being paraded around by symbiotes were so drained of all of their nutrients, they might as well be a corpse without the symbiote. It was grim, but it was better than endless suffering.

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Eventually, the implosion hit the seven spiders, removing any and all traces of symbiotes, synthetic or not. Once the implosion was finished, Eren started to fall to his knees, however, Cindy caught him in her arms.

He couldn't stand, so Cindy got down on the ground and sat on her knees, resting his head on her lap. As Eren lay on her lap, vibrating abruptly every few seconds, he tried his best to look her in the eyes.

"I understand now." Eren told her, though it was so vague, she didn't get what he meant.

"Understand what?" she asked him.

"I finally understand the meaning of life." he confessed. "All this time, I'd been searching for an answer. I stood over my parents' graves and cried because I couldn't find the answer. I was afraid to love anyone because again, I couldn't find the answer. But as my life flashed before my eyes, both lives, I found the answer."

Eren was crying, but he had a soft smile on his face despite his tears. "I understand why it was so hard for me to want to live. I didn't give myself a reason to. Once I started saving people, I gave myself a reason. I wanted to protect people, that was my goal. The first time I saved a life was the first time I truly felt alive after so many years of feeling like an empty husk. I had a purpose.

But there is something I wanted more than anything. It was to protect you and Harry of all people. I- I failed to protect Harry, and I'm so sorry. When I'm gone, tell Lily that I am sorry to her most of all."

"No! Tell her yourself!" Cindy spoke through her tears.

"I can't... I can't do that. My Spider-Sense is going crazy. It's like an alarm bell going off with no end. I'm dying, Cindy. I can feel it, and I'm so scared... I'm so scared. They say dying is peaceful, but I am terrified..."

"It's okay, Eren. It's okay, relax." Cindy tried speaking with a comforting voice and started rubbing his cheek softly, which seemed to be working. Emotions were a way to bypass one's Spider-Sense, and that weakness would be the one thing Eren appreciated the most about his powers at that exact moment.

Calming down, Eren began to continue what he wanted to say. "I failed to protect him, but when I spoke to him, I realized that we both had the same goal. Harry wanted to protect us too. Wanted to protect everyone, but we both failed to protect ourselves and that is the one downside to being a protector.

But I don't care! I don't care if protecting people cost me my life because I saved many more lives than mine is worth! I told you, I'd save as many people as I could..." simultaneously, Eren and Cindy finished his sentence.

"Even if it kills you."

"Even if it kills me."

"Yeah... you remembered." Eren said softly.

"Of course I did." Cindy spoke through her neverending tears.

"Outside of protecting people, I realized most of all what the meaning of life is. Or at least, what my meaning was. My meaning in life is to be there for the ones I love for as long as I live, to have memories of them, memories of you, and die happily with those memories. Living a life away from the people you love, running away because you're afraid to lose them is no way to live.

Thank you for waking me up all those years ago..."

From his toes, Eren's body began to dissipate and turn into Godspeed energy. Having things to say of her own, Cindy Moon spoke through her tears.

"I won't forget you.

I'll always remember your laugh.

Your smile.

Your anger.

Your tears.

I will remember everything.

Tomorrow, even when you're gone, I know you'll still be there with me.

Even though I can only reflect on our memories together as nothing more than fond memories now, I will embrace them as such and never forget how precious they are to me.

You gave me so much courage, so much strength.

I'll never forget that.

I'll always remember everything, even until my final breath.

Thank you, my love.

Please, let go.

You can sleep now, Eren.

I love you."

By that point, Eren's entire body below his neck had turned into Godspeed energy. Slowly, he shut his eyes, and his face began to slowly dissipate and fade into nothingness.

With no physical body left, Eren Parker as a physical being was no more.

He had become Absolute Godspeed.

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