Chapter 216: Into the Future (Omake)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Natalie and Felix were walking through a space tunnel, its design resembling intricate webs, in silence. The quiet was finally broken by Felix.

"You didn't need to be mean to him, you know?" Felix said, mustering the courage to speak.

"Since when was I mean?" Natalie asked, glancing at Felix in confusion.

Felix gave her a flat look. "Don't play dumb with me, Nat."

Natalie scoffed. "Being mean implies I had the option to be kind to him. Since I don't, I was simply treating him how he deserves. So, I still don't understand what you mean by calling me 'mean.'"

"You might be angry at our father, but that doesn't mean you should take it out on him," Felix said, pointing behind him. "He hasn't done anything to deserve the way you treated him."

Natalie shot Felix a glare. "Don't tell me how I should feel. Whether it's the past, present, or future, he's still the same bastard."

"You know, I'm getting real sick and tired of you constantly bad-mouthing our father," Felix said, irritation creeping into his voice. "Sure, he isn't perfect. He's made mistakes, but who hasn't? Nobody's perfect! At least he tries."

"Oh my God!" Natalie exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I'm so tired of hearing it! You and everyone else praise him like he's the second coming of Jesus fucking Christ! Newsflash, Felix: just because he was a fantastic father to you and everyone else doesn't mean he was a great father to me!"

"That's because you never give him the chance!" Felix retorted, his voice rising. "Do you think he doesn't try? You just won't let him! Every time you come home to visit Mom and everyone else, you ignore him and leave again for months. He has to ask Mom how you're doing, what you've been up to, and if you're eating well!"

"He already had his chance to be a father, and he failed!" Natalie shot back. "There are no do-overs, no second chances, no going back in time! There was a time when I needed a father more than anything, and he wasn't there! I've lived most of my life without one, and guess what? I managed perfectly fine. I didn't need him then, and I don't need him now."

"Perfectly fine?" Felix asked, his voice dripping with disbelief. "You call this 'perfectly fine'? You're angry all the time. You take out your anger on everyone else. You don't hesitate to kill, to end a life. You're just the poster child for mental health, aren't you!?"

Natalie's eyes turned into slitted pupils as fangs elongated from her mouth. Smaller eyes began to appear around her main ones, and tears formed in all eight of her eyes. "I'm so sick of everyone telling me how I should behave, act, or feel!" she snarled. "Everyone claims to understand how I feel but then tells me to forgive him. If they truly understood, they'd know I can't!

Do you know how it feels to be stuck and lost in this godforsaken place for years, with no one around? To cry out for my father until my voice went raw, only to have no one answer? To constantly be in danger, in unfamiliar places? Do you know why I kill, why I end lives so easily? Because I had to—to survive! It was either them or me! And yet, no one has ever told me my reasons for hating him are valid or justifiable!"

"LIAR!" Felix roared, his voice echoing like a tiger's growl. His eyes glowed a sparkling blue, sideburns grew along his face, and fangs protruded over his lips. Black marks appeared on his cheeks.

"There's one person who has justified your hate! Someone who's said your feelings are valid and that you have every right to feel the way you do! Want to know who that is? Our father! Your dad!"

"He understands your hate for him better than anyone else!" Felix said, pointing a clawed finger at Natalie's chest. "Do you know why he's never asked for your forgiveness? Because he thinks he doesn't deserve it! He believes you have every right to hate him! He can't even look you in the eye—not because he's scared of you or your wrath, but because he's ashamed! Every time he sees you, he sees the daughter he failed to protect.

So don't you dare say no one understands you! He understands more than anyone else because he constantly asks himself what you must be feeling and enduring!"

Tears streamed down Felix's face. "You weren't the only one affected by your disappearance, alright? Sure, you had it the hardest, and I'm sorry, sister. I truly am. What you went through is unimaginable. But don't think for a second you were the only one suffering!"

Felix wiped his tears. "Damn it… Just take me home. I'm done with this conversation." He undid his transformation and walked ahead.

Natalie threw her cigarette to the ground, stomping on it as she wiped her eyes. She followed Felix in silence.

As they reached their destination, Natalie hesitated before whispering, "How do you know what he felt during that time?"

Felix didn't look back as he replied, "I'm the youngest. When everyone else wanted independence, I stayed by his side. I followed him everywhere, trying to walk in his footsteps. Sometimes, we'd lie down and sunbathe. He'd fall asleep, and I'd hear him muttering your name."

Natalie bit her lip until it bled, though the wound quickly healed. She licked the blood away, opened the web of life, and stepped out.

They arrived in front of a large house. Felix walked toward it without saying another word to his sister. He entered without looking back, not waiting for her to follow. 

Natalie shook her head, turned back around, and was startled to find a woman with long, straight purple hair, purple lipstick, and eyeliner, wearing tight jeans and a purple blouse that showcased her prominent and mature features. However, her most striking feature was the purple gem on her forehead.

Natalie narrowed her eyes with a frown. "Aria… What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk…" Aria said, looking slightly uneasy.

"No thanks. I've already had one conversation today, and I'm not in the mood for another," Natalie said with a straight expression, turning to the side and beginning to walk away.

"I saw your conversation with him through Winston…" Aria said, letting out a sigh.

Natalie's steps faltered. She looked up and let out a tired sigh. "God, you're so freaking annoying. There's no privacy in this goddamn family."

"Please…" Aria said, pleading.

"Fine, but not out here in the open," Natalie said as she opened another passageway toward the Web of Life.

Aria floated slightly off the ground and followed her inside.

They stood in the same space where Felix and Natalie had just been.

"I'm giving you five minutes," Natalie said.

"As I heard your discussion with Felix, it made me realize the reason you're unwilling to forgive our father is that you don't know the lengths he went to while searching for you. That, and because he told me not to tell you."

"You're disobeying him? You? That's a first—your CPU must be fried," Natalie scoffed.

"Yes, I am disobeying his orders. He didn't want me to tell you because he didn't want to force you to forgive him. But you never gave anyone the time or chance to tell you since you always shut the conversation down right away," Aria explained with a straight expression.

Natalie frowned. "What, so you're forcing me to forgive him now?"

"No, I'm giving you a chance to understand the kind of person your father is."

Natalie scoffed. "What's there to understand? That bastard—"

Aria immediately interjected with a frown. "The one you keep calling a bastard is the same man who almost sold his soul to Mephisto to get you back."

"What?" Natalie muttered, the color draining from her face as her eyes widened.

"You're lying!" Natalie stuttered, still processing what she'd heard.

"If you think our father didn't try to find you during the years you were missing, you're a fool. He searched through heaven and hell to bring you home. He went to Doctor Strange and tried a locator spell, but because your connection to the Web of Life made you indistinguishable from it, you were impossible to find. Father almost drove himself mad trying to find ways to locate you… Until he couldn't take it anymore and forced Doctor Strange to send him to Mephisto."

"Forced him?" Natalie muttered, her brow furrowing.

Aria nodded, opening her palm to display a holographic video of the event. "Yes. This almost destroyed their friendship, but Doctor Strange respected the lengths Peter was willing to go to in order to bring you back and sent him to meet Mephisto."

The hologram changed, and Natalie stood frozen, her trembling eyes filling with disbelief.

Peter appeared haggard, his beard untrimmed, with bags under his eyes. He suddenly dropped to his hands and knees, slamming his head against the red ground, blood soaking his forehead.

"Mephisto! I implore you! I know you have the strength and power to summon anyone from the multiverse into your dominion! If you can return my daughter to me, my soul is yours!"

Natalie's horrified expression deepened as tears streamed down her face, her hand moving to cover her mouth as a small sob escaped her mouth. "Please tell me he didn't… Please tell me this wasn't why I found my way back home."

Aria sighed and shook her head as the scene changed again. Mephisto wore a large unnaturally wide grin as he held out a parchment to Peter along with a floating feather. Peter grabbed the feather and moved to sign.

Before he could, a golden portal shimmered into existence as a blur shot out of the portal, and Harry appeared to sucker-punched Peter with enough force to send him flying from the paper. "YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!" Harry shouted, enraged.

The hologram shifted again. Peter, tears streaming down his face and blood dripping from his forehead, grabbed Harry's collar. "WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!? THAT'S MY LITTLE GIRL OUT THERE! SHE'S ALONE, CALLING FOR ME! I CAN FEEL IT, SHE'S LOST AND ALONE, MY BABY GIRL! WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO FUCKING DO?!"

All Natalie wanted was to know that her father tried everything he possibly could to find her, that he didn't just simply abandon her after trying once and giving up on her. It didn't matter if he failed, all that mattered was that he tried everything he could. And seeing Peter's state and hearing his word Natalie collapsed to the ground, sobbing. "Daddy!" she cried.

Aria sighed at the sight of her sister. "Your mother was the only one who was able to persuade him not to give himself to Mephisto. Throughout the years you were missing, his only comfort was knowing you'd met him in the past."

The hologram shifted once more, showing a younger Peter tossing and turning in bed, muttering, "Will I truly become such a bad father…"

"Even on your recent visit, the way you treated him… Our father was so worried about what he might have done to you that he literally made himself sick with worry." Aria showed an image of Peter, cheeks red and breathing unevenly.

"So if people keep asking you to forgive him, it's not because they don't understand how you feel. It's because they understand his feelings too. It hurts to see the person he was willing to sacrifice everything for hating him so much."

Natalie stood abruptly and ran, opening the Web of Life to return to the street where she had dropped Felix offq.

She burst through the door to find Peter and Felicia welcoming Felix home. They froze, looking at her in confusion and concern.

Peter immediately stepped forward, frowning at her tear-streaked face. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Without a word, Natalie rushed forward and tackled Peter into a hug.

Everyone stared in disbelief as Natalie sobbed into Peter's arms. "Daddy!" she cried.

Peter's eyes widened, then grew moist as he hugged her back protectively. "It's alright… I've got you. Don't worry. I've got you. I won't let you go." it wasn't just an insurance to her but to himself as well. 

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