Part 5 - Blood of the King

Chapter 99 - Fourth Wall

Gwen felt very empty. After a few moments, or perhaps eternities, she realised she didn't exist. Of course, not existing meant she had a much better sense of what existing felt like and she knew she was real again as things started to get brighter.

Two guys were walking along the water front in Reykjavik, Iceland. Both were in their early twenties and were chatting happily about something quite amusing.

"Can you imagine if that actually happened? Like Gwen Stacy just pops up out of nowhere?"

"I mean, it'd be cool. I wonder what Stan Lee would say?"

"He'd probably think we're crazy."

"But we are."

"Well duh. You have to be to write an excessively long fan-fic. Anyway, we're in the right place at the right time, having exactly the same conversation that I wrote. If it happens, maybe you can get a flight home and ask her to sign your Into the Spiderverse poster?"

"Nah."

Suddenly, there was a pop and thump as someone seemed to just appear out of thin air.

"Holy sh...sugar honey ice tea it happened."

Gwen groaned, clutching her head. She had the mother of all headaches, but it did seem to be fading away. She turned her attention to her small audience: the two guys and a few other people who had pulled their phones out to record what may as well have been an alien encounter. She double tapped the side of her head, morphing her mask and hood away as she picked herself up.

"Where am I?"

"Reykjavik." Replied one of the guys.

The other bent down next to her.

"Are you alright?"

"I...think so. Am I missing anything?"

"Not that I can see."

He helped her to her feet. She stumbled a little, struggling to get her balance. When she wasn't almost falling over, she took a deep breath and looked around properly. It looked like it was late evening, but she couldn't be sure. She spotted a bench and sat down on it. The two guys sat next to her. The one who had helped her up spoke up:

"I'm Michael. This is Liam. Are you Gwen Stacy?"

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"We were...kinda jokingly expecting this to happen. But like...holy crap you're the Gwen Stacy. Like Spider-Gwen."

"Yeah...err. Are you just gonna fan-boy over me? I'm looking for someone."

"Who are you looking for?"

Liam spoke for the first time since she had appeared.

"Why do I get the feeling you're about to say 'The Author'?"

"I was actually."

"OK."

"How did you know?"

"Because I think I'm 'The Author'."

"That's a coincidence. I conveniently pop up right in front of you in the middle of Iceland."

"Hardly the 'middle of' Iceland. But that's kind of the funny part. Anyway, Michael can do some of the talking right now. I need to go for a wander and re-think my life choices."

Liam stood up and started walking. Gwen stood up too, but lost her balance and fell back onto the bench again.

"Wait!"

"If you're about to say what I think you are, then don't. It won't change anything."

He walked away.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked Michael.

"He freaks out easily. So, you're like the real Gwen Stacy."

"Didn't you figure that out already?"

"Yeah, but I'm tryna make it sink in. You're the actual Gwen Stacy. I mean, what would Stan Lee say if he could see this?"

"Who's Stan Lee? Another friend of yours?"

"No, he started Marvel."

"In my omniverse or whatever, the comics with me in were written by Layou Rodriguez, I think."

"I don't know. I never read them."

"And you're still fan-boying over me? Seriously?"

"Well you're probably the Gwen from Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse and she's really cool."

"Please don't bring up that film, or any of its sequels."

"What's Miles like?"

"Dead. Sorta. Do you guys have a multiverse of afterlives?"

"I don't know. We don't know about any alternate realities."

"Hmm."

Michael decided to back off a little. Gwen looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" He asked.

"You can get your friend Liam back. If he's 'The Author', I need to talk to him urgently."

"He'll come back when he's ready."

"Does he run off often?"

"Like I said, he freaks out easily. But no, he doesn't run off like that much."

"Right."

Liam returned nearly half-an-hour later.

"Sorry; I do my best thinking when I'm on the move."

"It's fine. Look, I need your help."

"I know you do, but I don't know how to say this: it won't work."

"What?"

"Writing Khahrahk out of your narrative. I finished the fan-fiction literally years ago. Now that SCP-3812 has left your narrative, I can't make anymore changes."

Gwen narrowed her eyes and got to her feet, not falling over this time.

"Let me get this straight: my entire life has been a fan-fiction?"

"What: you expected me to work for Sony or something? If only."

"I am surrounded by fan-boys."

"Michael might be drooling over you, but I only wrote 'Labours of Their Love' because it disgusted me to see some of the other stuff people wrote. I mean, there is literally one on the website describing you and Miles doing each other on top of the Empire State Building. If anything, I'm the opposite of a fan-boy."

"You made us have kids, so I'm guessing you wrote some inappropriate scenes as well."

"Not really. You kissed and stuff, but I left that stuff to you two in your spare time. Of course, the question is if I dictate your life, who dictates mine? Maybe we're all in a fan-fiction? Yes, hello reader. Did you know that as you read this story it's happening in a narrative or two below yours?"

"What are you doing?" Asked Gwen.

"Putting in an author's note so that Author doesn't have to do it. Sorry for that interruption, reader. But as I was saying, you don't know what will happen when you flick over to the next chapter. You could make Gwen massacre everyone in Reykjavik, or you could just make the entire world go bang. How does that make you feel: real people could die because you pressed the 'next chapter' button? That's exactly how I feel right now as I suddenly realise I condemned billions to their deaths by writing two-hundred and fifty thousand words. And on a lighter note, the crossovers in this chapter will be the SCP Foundation, mainly, as well as just about everything else. Don't worry, it will get better."

Both Gwen and Michael looked at him like he was crazy.

"You good, buddy?" Asked the latter.

"Did that monologue sound happy?"

"Sit down. Let's talk things over." Gwen suggested.

Much to her surprise, Liam did it. She sat as well. He stared out across the water; she wondered how she couldn't hear the gears turning in his head as he thought.

"Maybe if we break it down, we can figure out a way to write Khahrahk out?"

"It won't work."

"How do you know?"

"Because I already wrote this part."

"Are you sure you're OK?" Asked Michael.

"It doesn't matter. Everything we say and do right now was written by the Author in the narrative above. We can't stray off that path. And of course, the Author above us is being used like a puppet on a string by the Author above that. Maybe we'll throw in a movie director somewhere along the line? I feel like I'm standing in a room with mirrors on every wall: there's infinite people making another infinite people create a chain of infinite events which makes this exact thing happen. Here's a warning, narratives above: SCP-3812 is coming for you all. You probably don't care, just think it's a bunch of bullshit because you're making me say this. Have fun when everything you know dies."

Gwen grabbed Liam's shoulder and shook him vigorously.

"Can you stop having a crisis for a minute so we can look at the narrative below?"

"Oh sure. What can I do? I'll pretend I...you, reader, never made me say that."

"Maybe you can break some stuff down for me."

"Where do I start?"

"You said you started writing this fan-fiction because you wanted people to have one which wasn't straight-up perverted. Go from there."

"It isn't the only one on the website; there's plenty of others which aren't creepy. I just didn't think the majority of them did Into the Spiderverse justice."

"You thought you could do better?"

"Not really. I thought I could give it a shot. I've always liked writing. That's where Conall came from: an old story of mine called 'Guardians'. It went through a lot of versions and pissed off a lot of people. But originally Conall's power was actually supposed to be natural. In fact, you and Miles were going to work to try and crush the rebellion but then I realised spider people don't work with murderers. But yeah: that's why Conall has some pretty inconsistent powers."

"Where did the Ethereal Plates come from?"

"Just an idea. Everything kind of built on top of it until I suddenly realised I had a way to put literally anything I wanted into a fan-fiction again. Of course, doing that rips up the original canon of things so I created the omniverse. I gave Premis the nickname 'All Together Now' but I ditched the whole nicknames thing. Now I know about narratives, I don't need to worry."

"What about Helltreader? Why did he kill Miles?"

Gwen seemed slightly upset, but Michael figured that was probably normal for someone realising their entire life was just words on a web page.

"Helltreader was a result of Conall dying. Conall kept him at bay while he was alive but you killed him and all hell broke loose. As for why I killed Miles...I'm not sure. I think originally Helltreader was going to kill you both, but I had too many ideas."

"What about Alduin?"

"All from the Elder Scrolls Five. Minus Lucifer, of course. He popped up in my YouTube recommended, I watched the TV series, and I added him but slightly more of a psycho."

"Then the Scarlet King: why him?"

"Because he would come for you eventually. He's powerful, but there are things that can kill him. SCP-3812 could wipe him from existence, but that doesn't work now. Gwen, I'm sorry. If I knew you were all real, I would never have written any of it."

Gwen started pacing, then picked up a stone and threw it into the water.

"I guess I can't justify killing you for it."

"I guess the only thing I can do is at least let you find out how it ends."

"How does it end?"

"That's a spoiler for the narrative above. They'll find out when you do."

Gwen took Liam's unlocked phone which he offered.

"I only have two weeks. I may as well not waste them."

"Can I get your autograph?" Blurted out Michael.

Gwen sighed.

"Fine."

Crossovers in this Chapter

Liam covered it. And just so you know, Liam started as a bit of self insertion but at the time of adding this note, I can tell you he's far beyond that now...
Also my IRL name isn't Liam.