Webs and Bones

Worlds Apart

The Omega Timeline... was a mess.

Half the buildings had been destroyed. Dust was everywhere, even miles away from the town, where it may never be found. The Spider Society had put up many medical tents to help the injured, but their lack of knowledge of Monster biology and general lack of natural healing powers limited what they could do.

How could they have let this happen? 

Spiders were everywhere, clearing rubble and comforting those who weren't scared of them. 

Marine rushed into one of the tents to find Clover lying in a cot. He had lost a lot of blood during his battle. The Captain America version of Spider-Man tried to assure her he would be okay, but it is hard to listen when the person you love looks so close to death.

Such destruction, all in less than a day. Frisk couldn't take it. They could see all of it and it hurt more than it always did. They could feel the multiverse trying to pull them apart again but the synthetic glue holding them together still wouldn't let go. 

Even so, they could still see and hear everything happening in the Omega Timeline and they hated it. It hurt so much that they just wanted to gouge out their new eyes. How could they let this happen? Why did they allow themself to leave? Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?!?!

"I'm sorry."

Core lifted their tear-stained face from their hands and turned to look at Prime, surprised that they hadn't noticed him approaching. He was sitting next to them on the edge of the roof of a half-caved-in house. He didn't have his mask on, showing the world a thirty-year-old human with brown hair.  

Frisk almost forgot that the mask wasn't his face. 

"What for?" they asked. 

Peter turned to look at Frisk. There was no denying the grief behind his eyes. The guilt that looked older than the attack. Frisk wondered what he had gone through to be able to make such an expression. 

There was also... confusion.

"We made you leave. It's our fault that all of this happened," he answered.

Core stared at him for a few moments. 

"It's not."

"It is."

Core shook their head. "No, it's not. You wanted our input on how to handle Error safely. We should've insisted that we do it here. We should've known that Nightmare would take advantage of our absence. You couldn't have known. This multiverse is our responsibility. Not yours."

A momentary laugh escaped Peter. He shook his head and said, "You obviously don't understand how we Spiders think."

Frisk smiled softly, "Actually, I'd say I have a pretty good idea."

A calming silence washed over them, broken only by the sound of work and cries of grief and effort. Both of them were used to it.

"How's the new body holding up?" Prime asked like he was a father asking his kid about a new bike.

Frisk shrugged and began examining their flesh-coloured hand again. They ran their thumb over their palm. They pressed down. When they lifted their thumb again, the skin in that spot was paler than before but it quickly returned to normal. 

"It's... weird," they began. "I can feel so many new things, things that I haven't felt for a long time. Bones under my skin, saliva in my mouth, my heart beating, my lungs deflating... it's almost too much. But... at the same time, I feel like my senses have been dulled. Not surprising since I don't seem to be able to see past the Omega Timeline."