read chapter 4 for the disclaimer.

dark chapters ahead, and slash is implied- well, it's more like a given right about now... don't read it if you don't like that stuff.

Chapter Five

The Goblin was waiting for Peter when he woke up. He stood slightly off to the side, out of Peter's peripheral vision. Peter's movements were sluggish and deliberate, but Gobby was pleased to know that he would not be gaining full strength for quite some time.

"Rise and shine!" Gobby said cheerily as Peter began to move his head around, taking in the room slowly, unable to focus on anything. He did, however, manage the difficult task of focusing on Gobby, and he glared up at him with clear resentment.

"What did you do to me?" Peter asked after a second of looking the Goblin over. Gobby felt an awful lot like he was being analysed by the young man for future reference.

"What did I do to you, or what will I do to you?" Gobby smiled and stared down at Peter joyfully.

Peter looked at him warily, but did not otherwise speak.

The Goblin smiled at Peter's wise silence to the suggestive glimpse at what was to come. He proudly hoisted himself onto one of his end tables, knocking several things over in the process, deliberately ignoring them.

"So, have you been considering my offer, hero?" Gobby said, abruptly changing the subject. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Peter was trying unsuccessfully to push himself up and into a sitting position.

Feeling a pang of helpfulness, which was undoubtedly caused by Norman, Gobby put both hands underneath the webhead's armpits and pulled him up. Peter wouldn't have described the Goblin's actions as gentle, but they weren't exceedingly abusive either, and Peter was grateful for the relief that sitting up gave him.

"Yeah, I considered your offer. The answer is 'no'."

The Goblin remained smiling, ignoring Parker's refusal. "Are you sure, Parker? You might regret that decision later."

Peter nodded. "Positive."

"Okay then, hero." the Goblin said and hopped off his perch. He walked one hundred and seventy degrees around the couch until he was facing Peter. He stood there for a couple seconds, until he decided to sit where Parker was unoccupied. He comfortably snuggled down against Peter, and with a gloved finger, he began to trace lines on Peter's chest.

At first Peter was uncomfortable with the Goblin's presence so close to his own, but he soon began to feel more relaxed, and a part of him liked the way the Goblin was holding him. It felt- comforting somehow.

"Why won't you join me, Peter?" the Goblin eventually asked, pulling Peter's face to his so that they were head-to-head. Peter's eyes remained downcast.

"Because you're evil." Peter said, albeit reluctantly. He noticed that the Goblin was shaking slightly.

"Everything's black and white to you, Parker. That's your problem. Did you ever stop to wonder about the man behind the mask?" Gobby lifted a metallic finger and gestured to his face.

Peter's blue eyes rose until they locked directly with Gobby's.

"Yes, and no."

The Goblin stroked Peter's cheek lightly with his finger, and chuckled.

"Well, you may want to know that my alter-ego hates me. He's tried to stop me numerous times, but each time- he's failed. Do you know why?"

The Goblin looked Peter over. He was unable to move, but he didn't need movement to express what he was feeling- it was clear in those beautiful eyes of his. Pity.

"Don't pity him, Peter." Gobby increased pressure on Parker's cheek. Parker winced, and a trail of blood sprung up, trailing crimson down his cheek and curving where his cheekbone curved, eventually hitting his T-shirt and staining it. He must have drawn blood with his nail.

"He doesn't want it. I don't want it. I have successfully broken him, as I will you." the Goblin paused, thinking of what to say next. Peter stared up at him expectantly, remaining silent.

"He was hard to break. But you will be even harder." the Goblin laughed at the fury written on the young man's face.

"I can't wait."

---

Had someone been allowed in the Osborn mansion- which they weren't- they would have immediately known that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

The front room was a mess. Valued artefacts littered the floor and blood was soaked into the carpets. But it wasn't just that.

There was an eerie silence that surrounded the place, but if you were very quiet and listened terribly hard, you would hear the faint screams coming from below.

If you dared to follow where those screams came from, you would travel to the basement, where a young man had been carried too.

The basement was decorated just as lavishly as the rest of the mansion, and it had also been trailed with blood. But no one was there, although the screams were almost deafening.

If you looked carefully, you would see the door in a far corner of the room. It was locked- only Norman had the key.

It was from behind that door that the screams were coming from.

---

The Goblin had beat Peter for nearly an hour, shredding strips of skin from his back. Peter was reduced to tears. The more Peter cried, the more the Goblin laughed, and the harder he struck. It was a never-ending cycle.

It was when the Goblin was striking his hardest when he stopped abruptly, Norman surfacing and taking over. With a cry, Norman- dressed as the Goblin- bent down by Peter, and gently pulled him up and into a sitting position.

"I'm so sorry Peter, I couldn't stop him." he said, voice changing. It was lighter, more calm then the Goblin's normal tone, and Peter could tell that whomever it was that served as the Goblin's body was back, if only for a short period of time.

"I'll try and find a way two get you out, Peter. I promise."

Then the Goblin stood, and walked out of the room. Before he closed the door, however, he said something that froze Peter's heart:

"If you don't join me, I'll begin to attack your friends." The Goblin then slammed the door shut, leaving Peter to think.

It was all he could do.

---

"If I had never become Spider-Man, none of this would've happened."

Immediately after he spoke, he regretted what he said.

'Parker, snap out of it! Remember all those people you saved from being killed? They all are so grateful to you for doing that- they love you!'

"No, New York hates me." Peter protested.

'No, Jameson hates you, and the only reason why he hates you is because he's jealous of you. He wishes that he could have the kind of guts I do- that we do. I'm not just like the Goblin Peter; I'm not like him at all. He's like a symbiont, taking over that poor man's body, controlling his mind. But you and me, we work as a team. You are a part of me, and I am a part of you.

'You and me can beat this thing- it's only gonna be you that's gonna be able to stop it from planting guilt and falsehoods in your mind. You have to use your strength Peter, and leave that Goblin in the dust.'

"But I felt something with him- a connection."

'Yeah, Petey. You felt it because the man he is- he's someone close to your heart. If you truly care about him, Parker, you're gonna have to help him. And to do that, I have a plan.'

Author's Note:

I love my thesaurus ^_^ it helped me SO much during this chapter.

Well, here you go folks! The action begins. Although you may be thinking 'where is this going?', you will find out soon enough.

Also,

Nemi- I wanted to say that I will still be using your idea, but the torturing will not go to the fuller extent you wanted, because had an idea. And no, I'm not telling you my idea -_-

Keep on reading and reviewing people! I think I must have hugged the entire student body this morning, I was so happy at reading all the new reviews: when I was just expecting 25 (at most), I got 33! Whee!

~Luna/Anya