Spider-Man and The Lost Letter of Silver Sable, a spider-man fanfic

You know, I never thought I'd write and publish anything other than my research papers, but after receiving so much positive feedback from my last book, I thought I'd share another one of my adventures with you all.

This time we begin back at ToonTown. I had just returned from another one of my field expeditions and came back to rest up for a while. That was at least the plan until my friend showed up in ToonTown to ask for my help.

I had just finished having lunch at a local cafe when my friend approached me.

"Poinsy?"

"I believe I told you to refrain from calling me that, Mr. Spider-Man," Mary Jane huffed.

I laughed at that, "you're one to talk, I told you to stop calling me Mr. Spider-Man long ago."

Mary Jane shook his head in amusement, "I'm afraid that won't happen any time soon Mr. Spider-Man."

"Fine, be that way," I said, "I'm sure we have better things to discuss anyway. For example, the reason for your visit."

"Ah yes, I was getting to that part." Mary Jane gestured for us to walk and we started making our way to the park nearby.

"Let me not beat around the bush, I'm here to invite you to join me with a project I've recently invested my time in."

"A project?" I looked over at him curiously as we walked in Valiant park.

"I believe you'll enjoy this one, we're scouting the ruins around Silver Sable and hopefully finding something worth recovering."

"Silver Sable? I thought the locals were against people digging around?"

"Oh believe me, they were definitely against it at first, but my uncle has managed to convince them recently." Mary Jane said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"The professeur? Is there a reason why he suddenly wants to explore Silver Sable?" I asked as we found a bench and sat down.

"It's mostly because of some rumours going around recently," He paused before turning to me, "Does this mean you're interested?"

"Well, how can I say no to an adventure?" I chuckled, "I'm in."

"Excellent! We'll go over the details during the train ride to Silver Sable," Mary Jane said, standing up to shake my hand, "Glad to have you abroad."

"Thanks for inviting me." I smiled and accepted his handshake.

And just like that, I'm on a train leaving ToonTown the next day. I smiled watching the scenery pass by, I really can't say no to an adventure can I? I tear my eyes away from the view as Mary Jane sat down across from me.

"Let's begin," he said,"first let us go over any questions you may have."

"hmmm…...how about these rumors you mentioned?"

"Well, I assume you know the history of Silver Sable?"

I thought about that for a bit before answering,"the place got its name from their late princess if I remember correctly."

Mary Jane nodded and gestured for me to continue.

"From what I've gathered, a war broke out between the princess and her uncle, the Duke of Zill. " I shifted a bit in my seat, "The princess promoted pacifism and had disbanded the former army, her people fled as soon as they were first attacked. Without any form of defense, her uncle's army infiltrated the castle with ease."

"Indeed, under normal circumstances Silver Sable would have lost."

"But she won, didn't she?" I asked.

"That's the mystery Mr. Spider-Man, princess Silver Sable turned the tides, but there's no evidence found of how." Mary Jane explained as he pulled out a few papers from the bag he brought with him.

He spread the papers on the table between us. Upon closer inspection, the papers were photographs, one had a young woman and another had a weird cylinder shaped machine. There were also a few others scattered around.

"This is a portrait of the late princess Silver Sable," Mary Jane said, pointing at the photo with the young woman, "she ascended to the throne at quite a young age after the former king died."

"That would explain some things at least." I picked up the photo with the weird cylinder. "What's this?"

He took the photo from me and replied, "this was reported to be found by some of the locals a few years back, we speculate that this was part of the Duke's army."

"It's mostly mechanical but it does seem to be partly powered by runes as well," he continued.

"Are you saying the Duke was a rune user?"

"That would be the case, yes."

"Are these rumors recently related to that war? You still haven't said anything about it."

"Ah yes, I was getting there." Mary Jane cleared his throat before continuing. "The locals have claimed that princess Silver Sable wrote and sent out a letter in her time of need, it is said that this letter also led to her victory in the war."

"I'm guessing your team hopes to find said letter in your excavation and exploration of the local area?"

"That's correct Mr. Spider-Man, since we speculate that her uncle was a rune user, we concluded that the princess must have dealt with runes as well. If runes were involved it would explain why no one has found this letter yet." He said as he stacked the photos and handed it to me.

"You can take a look at the rest of these while we're still on the train, you'll find some information on the back." I accepted the photos and watched him stand up.

"If you have any more questions Mr. Spider-Man, feel free to come and ask me," Mary Jane said as he left for his room on the train.

I took the photos with me as I retreated back to my room as well, placing them on a table to study later. After a small break I decided to have another look at the photos.

The first one I picked up was a man with a helmet on, the helmet seems to be made of plastic or glass with two metal pieces on the sides. I flipped the photo over, the description states that this is the Duke of Zill and it is recorded that he was exiled after trying to include runes in the kingdom's defenses. During an experiment gone wrong, his face was badly scarred and he wore a helmet ever since.

Looking at the cylinder photo again, I noticed even though it was faint in the photograph, there was a slight yellow hue at what seemed like the base of the machine. That would explain the assumption of rune use, though where did they place the rune? Reading the back it said that these machines were mainly built by the Duke's followers, mostly people he convinced to rebel against Silver Sable. I noted this down and looked outside, it was getting dark.

"I better head to bed soon, I have a long day ahead of me," I mumbled to myself.

After looking at some of the other photos and writing some things down, I prepared myself for bed.

I was awoken by a knock at the door, the staff was probably calling everyone for breakfast. I got ready, grabbed my bag and opened the door, whoever knocked on my door had already moved on. Seeing that I'm now awake, I made my way to the dining car.

"Mr. Spider-Man, glad to see you awake," Mary Jane greeted as he saw me enter.

"Good morning to you as well, Poinsy." I smiled. "We have a long day ahead of us, don't we?"

"I believe so, yes." he gestured for me to join him at his table. "Though we're mainly scouting the area today."

I sat down across from him and began to look at the menu as we talked. "Has your team already looked around the area briefly?"

"Mostly around the village, we also asked the locals to tell us the things they know," he said, waving a waiter over, "so, there's a few things we need to confirm."

"Oh? What are they?" I asked as the waiter began to take our order.

"Well, castle ruins is one, they claim that there's parts of Silver Sable's castle that remained intact, though no one is certain of its whereabouts." Mary Jane waved his hand around slightly. "People these days really need to know the importance of records!"

I chuckled a bit at that,"I'm sure we'll be able to find it."

"Then there's the claims of a beast in the woods nearby," he said with a sigh, "again, no evidence or proof to what this beast is."

"No witness reports?"

"No consistent ones, most of them just claimed to have seen a large shadow."

"Well this will just make this more interesting," I said as our food arrived.

After having breakfast, we headed back to our rooms to prepare to leave the train. I gathered up the photos from last night as well as my notes, placing them neatly in my bag. Soon enough, we were exiting the train and were greeted by Mary Jane's team. I introduced myself briefly and was led away by Mary Jane to our main exploration area.

"And that's it, you may look around more on your own if you like," He said after a quick tour around the site.

"Yeah, that sounds good," I said, taking in the general landscape, "I'll look around a bit, see you at dinner?"

Mary Jane nodded and left to discuss plans with the rest of the team.

After he left, I took out a map from my bag. Judging from how fast we got here, I'm not far from the village. I looked around once more, the area is mostly forest and bushes. I took another look at the map and the general area Mary Jane marked out that we'll be exploring. As I tried to plan my next move, my thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a rustling sound. It was probably just a deer or something, but I decided to follow the sound anyway.

Taking mental note of my surroundings, I found myself following the rustling sound for at least five minutes. Was I still in our exploration area? I wasn"t sure. One thing I was certain about is that whatever was causing the rustling stopped. I pushed aside a few bushes and then I slipped.

"Holy Cuss!" I exclaimed loudly as I quickly held on to an exposed root of a tree.

It seems that I've found a tunnel of some sort, it resembled that of a rabbit hole but much wider. Quickly shifting my weight and changing my hand, I managed to open my bag and grab a rope from inside.

I pulled myself up as much as possible and tied one end of the rope to the root I was holding on to. I took a deep breath in and descended.

I landed with a silent thud and looked around, I'm now at the start of a tunnel. A quiet crackling sound could be heard from further down.

I tugged on my rope and it came down in the tunnel with me. After putting the rope back in my bag, I fished out a flashlight. With the tunnel now semi lit up, I walked away from the entrance and went in.

The tunnel was wide enough for me to walk through, although I did have to duck to dodge some roots. It was made of just dirt, or maybe dried mud? Anyways, the tunnel didn't seem natural, so some one must have made it.

As I ventured further, the crackling became louder and I was met with what looked like the start of an abandoned mineshaft. In the corner of my eye I spotted a fallen sign, the wood was decayed and the paint was peeling off, but you could still read what was on it.

It read "Anairo Mines".

"Interesting," I muttered, taking out a camera and taking a photo of the sign.

As I carefully stored the exposed film away, I observed the mines more closely. The mines weren't too big, but definitely a bit more spacious than the previous tunnel. The wooden frames of the mines were no better than the sign, they've all been decaying over the years and looked soft to the touch. The beam of my flashlight shined through the mines, illuminating the path in front of me.

Splat.

The first sound I heard aside from the crackling noise, the sound of mud falling from above. The closer I got to the crackling the muddier it got in the mines. A loud squelching sound accompanied me as I trudged through the mud and I adjusted my bag to avoid it from getting dirty. It was then that I heard another sound, a squeak, like a mouse but more high pitched. I pointed my flashlight towards the source of the sound, but all I saw was a small tail flicker by, I chased after it.

Turning the corner, I finally found the source of the crackling, a small bonfire. Beside the bonfire were two creatures I've never seen before, they had limbs resembling mice but a body resembling that of a lizard. They looked startled and immediately hid behind a fallen piece of wood nearby.

"Oh! I mean no harm," I approached the fire and knelt down, "please come out."

The creatures peeked out from behind the piece of wood, one of them, the bigger one, pushed the other towards me. The smaller creature squeaked in surprise, eyes wide with fear.

Luckily I always bring a snack with me, so I took out a small slice of cheese from my bag. As I'm placing it down in front of the creature, I backed up a bit to see it's reaction.

It squeaked at the cheese, then sniffed it. After it deemed the snack safe, it snatched the cheese and began nibbling. It's companion seemed to have noticed that there's food now and scurried over towards their friend.

I chuckled a bit, "no need to fight, I have more in my bag."

While I brought out more cheese, I thought about what I should refer to these little guys as. They seem to be able to understand me quite well, though all they can do is squeak so I sadly can't ask them what they were. Since they were a combination of mice and lizards, I thought that a combination of the two names would just have to do for now. Might as well, I thought as I took a photo of them while they ate.

"Mizzards, I'll call you guys mizzards," I declared to no one in particular, "now do you guys know where the exit of these mines might be?"

The bigger mizzard looked at me, then at their buddy, they seemed to be communicating silently. I offered some more cheese, they immediately snatched it and ran towards deeper in the mines. The smaller one looked back at me, signalling me to come with them. I quickly stood up and followed them closely behind.

Squelch.

The sound accompanied me with every step. The mizzards did not stop, I was almost starting to get worried. That was until I was faced with what looked like a stone wall.

The mizzards turned to me and pointed toward a hole in the corner of the wall.

"Did you guys make that?" I asked, observing this wall. "I don't think I'll fit, I'll have to find another way."

Upon closer inspection, there was a crack in the form of a door. I pushed the wall slightly and felt some movement. This was probably used as a secret door at some point, but it's clearly been worn down with time. I placed my whole body against it this time and pushed harder. The mizzards squeaked as if cheering me on.

Click.

It sounded like I triggered something, the door immediately swung open and before I knew it I was on the other side. The mizzards have scurried off somewhere, the sudden movement of the door had most likely startled them.

I waited for my eyes to adjust to the brightness, looking at the sky it seemed to be past evening. I dusted myself off and had a look at my new surroundings, in front of me were a couple steps leading up to somewhere.

Walking up the steps, I'm greeted by an open field framed with trees. Around the field were large chunks of what once was a majestic structure. Judging from the placement, size and style of the pieces, this was a castle.

"Jackpot!" I exclaimed, this must be the castle of princess Silver Sable.

I quickly took a picture of the ruins before getting a closer look. Moonlight shone through the trees, illuminating the quiet ruins before me. The walls looked grainy, like it was going to crumble the moment you made contact. In the center of the ruins there was what looked like an altar of some sort, moonlight concentrating on it as if trying to draw me in. Before I knew it, I was slowly making my way towards it.

I was only broken out of my trance by a low growl.

I whipped my head around and was faced with an approaching tiger. During this time I made the mistake of looking the beast in the eye. I tried to slowly back away, but I soon bumped into one of the ruin walls.

I moved out of the way as I saw the beast charge at me, the wall shook from the impact.

Well if it wasn't mad at me before, it certainly was now. The markings on its body seemed to glow for a second as it shook its head. I looked in my bag and pulled out a small ball, this should work. As the tiger focused its attention back on me I waved the ball in front of it, making sure it saw it.

The tiger growled cautiously, eyeing the ball with suspicion. I threw the ball past the tiger, trying to get it as far away from me as I could. Thankfully the tiger took the bait and headed towards the ball to investigate.

Carefully I began to back away, searching for higher ground. I got on the ground and rolled towards some broken staircase. I looked back at the tiger, it seemed to be still occupied by the ball.

Scooping up a hand full of dirt, I began rubbing it against my clothes. This should buy me a little more time. Then I climbed up the staircase.

Once I got to where the staircase broke off I looked around, there were a few pillars nearby I could get to. I tested my footing and tried to get closer to the edge, then I lept towards the closest pillar.

I held back a gasp as I clung to the edge of the pillar, that was close. I pulled myself up with a huff and focused back on the tiger. It seemed to have stopped inspecting the ball and returned to looking for me.

Rubbing dirt on my clothes seemed to have covered my scent enough that it couldn't find me, at least for a short while. I took this opportunity to observe the beast more carefully.

It's markings looked different, not like what a regular tiger would have. The stripes resembled that of flames, dancing on the paler fur around them. It's eyes shone with the light of the moon, like gems in the night.

I racked my brain, trying to figure out what exactly this creature is, this is definitely no ordinary tiger. I think back to the stripes, they were like flames. Flames, that's it! This was most likely a fire tiger. To test my theory I decided to take a risk, I took out a match, lit it and threw it at the tiger as it came near.

The match landed on the tiger's back, the tiger didn't seem to notice. The flame seemed to spread, first only a small patch on it's back, but it soon spread to the rest of its body. Soon enough, the tiger was completely engulfed in flames, though the tiger looked unfazed. It shook its body, the way tigers would when wet, and the flames dispersed.

I let out an audible gasp as I stared in awe, how? I tried to get a closer look, maybe there were stray sparks or something left behind? I got up slowly, inching closer towards the edge of the pillar I was on.

The movement seemed to have caught its attention, the tiger looked up at me and started growling. Oh cuss, that's definitely not good.

I lost my footing for a second as the pillar shook, almost making me fall over the edge. Thankfully I managed to find my balance once more, at least enough so I can look down and see the CUSSING TIGER CLIMBING UP THE PILLAR .

Seeing no other way out, I lept towards another pillar just as the tiger made it to the top. This time I managed to land a pretty solid landing, well in my books at least.

So there I was, face to face with a fire tiger, each standing on a pillar. It was like a scene in an action movie. I reached in my bag and pulled out…... where was it again?

"Aha! Now let's just hope this is enough." I exclaimed as I pulled out what I was looking for: a tranquilizer gun. With it I also brought out my trusty rope, securing it around my waist.

I loaded the gun, now I just had to get in a good shot.

"Let's see, first let's knock you down a peg," I said reaching in my bag once more, "this should do it!"

I took out a small bomb, lit the wick and threw it towards the other pillar. I plugged my ears and waited for the explosion.

Boom.

I looked at the other pillar, smoke blocking my view. In the midst of the smoke jumped out the tiger heading towards me. The pillar shook from the impact and began crumbling beneath me.

Think quick Spider-Man! I whipped out a small umbrella that slowed my fall just as the pillar collapsed completely.

"That was close." I said, putting away my umbrella. "If it's a fight you want it's a fight you'll get."

I steadied the tranquilizer gun, just one shot is all I need. Come on Spider-Man, you can do this. I fired the gun as the tiger charged at me.

I grunted as I was slammed against a pile full of ruble, the tiger managed to dodge the tranquilizer dart it seems. I reached for the gun again just to realize it's not there.

"Of course," I sighed.

I looked towards the tiger and it stared back into my eyes. I felt a chill down my spine, there was something in its eyes, something I couldn't quite explain.

A roar startled me as I focused back to the task at hand.

The gun! Where is the gun? I looked around frantically, finally finding the gun behind the fire tiger.

"It's never easy with me is it?" I laughed drily, what now?

I shuffled slowly away, "easy there big guy, let me just-"

The tiger growled at me and charged.

"Yeah you're definitely-" I stumbled as I tried to get to the tranquilizer gun- "angry about the bomb."

I unfastened the rope around my waist and made a lasso. I tossed the loop on the ground in front of me and picked up the gun.

"Let's pray this actually works," I murmured, slowly backing away from the loop while still holding on to the other end of the rope.

"Okay Spider-Man, focus." I drew in a deep breath. "One, two-"

The beast pounced, "-three!"

I pulled on the rope as the tiger's paw landed in the rope's loop, the rope tightened around its paw and the tiger fell. A dust cloud formed around the beast on the ground, I started reloading the tranquilizer gun while the tiger's down.

The next second my head was pounding and I was laying on the ground, the tiger was beside me looking down at my face.

I quickly turned and fired the tranquilizer dart. The dart lodged itself in the tiger's shoulder, the tiger roared and pounced on me.

I felt the wind get knocked out of me and then a searing pain in my side, it was like I was about to get torn apart. Suddenly I could breathe again, gasping for air as the tiger stumbled off me.

I winced as I got up, picking up my rope and started tying the tiger up as the drugs started kicking in. After securing and reinforcing the rope multiple times I collapsed beside the fire tiger in exhaustion.

I grunted as I sat upright and reached in my bag for some medical supplies to treat my wound. A bandage roll and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, this should be enough for now.

"Stars I probably need to wash this first don't I?" I sighed, where would I find water?

I stood up, dusting myself off and wincing from the wound. Might as well explore this place more right? I headed towards the center of the ruins and where I saw the altar, you could see the moon from there and it was like it was placed on the altar.

Behind the altar was what looked like a pond, no, it was more like a pool. The moment I saw it I was in awe. I was speechless from the scene in front of me, the way the stars were reflected on the water seemed to give it life. The moon shone brightly overhead and it was almost like the pond was glowing. It looked… magical.

"Wow," I exclaimed, I looked into the pond and my reflection stared back.

Then a stinging pain made me remember the wound I still needed to clean up. I took off my jacket and shoes, I also rolled up my sleeves and pants.

I set the bandage roll and the bottle of rubbing alcohol down and sat at the edge of the pool, slowly dipping my feet in the water. The water was cold, I don't know why I was surprised by it.

I lifted my shirt, bringing it to my mouth to muffle out my groans. I brought out a towel and soaked it with water, I took a deep breath in from my nose as I began cleaning out my wound.

After I deemed my wound clean enough, I used the rubbing alcohol to disinfect it. I winced as I began wrapping the bandage around my wound, this was definitely going to leave a scar.

I secured the bandage by tucking the end under some previous layers, then I checked to see if there was any blood seeping through. No blood yet, that was good.

I dried my feet off, put my shoes and jacket back on and unrolled my sleeves and pants. Time to take a closer look at that altar from before.

The altar was made of stone and surprisingly well kept considering the condition of the rest of the ruins. In the center was a crystal ball, I stared at it in awe.

Color?

It was faint but it was definitely there, deep within the crystal as the moonlight passed through it.

Then I felt it again, the strange pull from earlier. I reached for the crystal.

As I held the crystal in my hand it shone brighter, I quickly placed it back on the altar. My eyes were soon forced shut from the blinding light. When I opened my eyes again I was in awe for the second time that night.

Before me stood a beautiful woman in the water. Her long locks flowed like the water beneath her, reaching just below her waist. She wore a white dress, it was simple but elegant just the same.

"Princess Silver Sable?"

Her eyes widened as they met mine, "Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Spider-Man, Spider-Man The Cat." I said after I managed to compose my thoughts.

"Spider-Man The Cat, interesting," the princess said, "why have you come here?"

"Well first let me say, it is an honor to be in your presence, your highness." I said taking a small bow. "I've stumbled upon this place by accident and was hoping to uncover some truths around the time of your rule."

"Please, no need to be formal. It is true that I once ruled but as you can see-" she made a small gesture at the ruins- "those days have long since passed."

She walked towards me as she continued, "it's been a long time since I had visitors. Stay for a while, I can perhaps answer some questions of yours."

She sat down beside the altar and patted the ground beside her, I settled myself down and thought of what I should say next. Before I could say anything though, she spoke first.

"You're probably wondering how I'm even here," said the princess as she looked into the distance.

"It wasn't my idea, it was my advisor Pearl's. I wanted a way to look after my people after my demise, she suggested this." The princess sighed and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "I'm just a mere projection, hardly a person after so many years."

"I see… do you regret your decision?"

"There are times, especially now that I regret it, yes. It was a reckless decision, I admit."

"Is there a way to reverse it? Set you free?"

"There probably is, I just never gave it much thought I suppose." The princess shrugged and looked down at her hands, looking deep in thought.

I let her have her moment before asking, "you said you wouldn't mind answering some questions?"

"Oh! Yes, I wouldn't mind. Like I said, it's been awhile since I had someone to talk to."

"Berries! Now where do I begin…hmmm"

"Well, you did mention seeking truths around when I was ruling, do you have anything specific?"

"Oh, yes I do actually! There's been some speculation around the events of the war between you and your uncle."

The princess nodded, "my uncle's first attack was a surprise, my people fled and Pearl and I were left alone in the castle to fend off the intruders, needless to say we were not very successful."

I gestured for her to continue as I took out a notebook to take notes, she raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment on it.

"Pearl managed to escape but I got captured by my uncles minions, all hope seemed to be lost as he managed to take over the castle."

"But you won, it was a miracle that you did."

She chuckled at that, "indeed it was."

"People say you sent out a letter and that was your key to victory, is that true?"

The princess looked at me then seemed to have a realization, "yes there was a letter, though it was hardly tied to the reason for my victory."

"Oh?"

"I did write a letter, though I suppose it isn't really a letter, more of a note. It served as a distraction when I confronted my uncle." Silver Sable turned around and pointed to a circular shape carved into the altar. "It should still be here, pressing this button should open up the compartment where it's held."

I did just that, the compartment opened up as she said and inside was a single sheet of paper, the ink had faded a bit over time but you could clearly see what was written.

"Truth, love, wisdom?"

The princess smiled and looked back into the distance, "like I said, the letter was a mere distraction."

"Then how did you win?"

"My uncle led his people with an ironfist, he forced them to assemble his robotic army. When I was captured a man came to me, he was fed up with how my uncle was ruling and decided to aid me." Silver Sable brought her knees closer to her chest as she continued telling her tale. "He got me in front of a crowd and I managed to convince his people to rebel, my uncle's robotic army caught on pretty quickly what I was trying to do but alas they were too late."

"You turned his followers against him!" I gasped, "incredible."

The princess laughed weakly, "it was surprisingly easy, the people were eager to have someone new in charge. They marched beside me right up to when I faced my uncle."

"I see, they must have been enduring him for a long time."

"Indeed, it was a shame I couldn't help them sooner."

I hummed in agreement, "why did your uncle attack anyway?"

"It was for a book my father left me, it was said to hold immense power. He made me tell him where I hid it and I told him where I hid the letter instead. There are only a few that know of the letter so I can guess how that may have confused you."

I nodded as I carefully placed the letter back in it's compartment.

"It is getting late and as much as I would love for you to stay, I'm sure you have business to attend to," Silver Sable said.

"I suppose I should be trying to get back, one last query if I may?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Well you see, I'm an archeologist and my team and I would like to explore these ruins and perhaps take back what we might find," I explained, "seeing as you're here, it is only right that I ask for your permission first."

The princess seemed to have thought about my question for a moment before answering.

"I suppose you can, I'm merely a projection, it's not like I can stop you even if I wanted to." she shrugged. "I do have one request though."

"That seems reasonable, what's your request?"

"Can you please spare my companion through your exploration? You may take any item you find, including the letter as it no longer holds any value to me. But can you please leave my friend?"

I tilted my head in confusion, "friend?"

"Have you not met Fiyero? He comes by every night to visit me, though now that I think about it, where is he?"

My ears shot up in surprise as my eyes widened, "Is he a tiger by chance?"

Silver Sable gave me a look before nodding. I looked at her sheepishly and offered an apologetic smile.

"He's a bit… tied up right now."

"... I see," said the princess.

"Yeah, I'm terribly sorry. He attacked me, I didn't know he was your friend!"

"It's alright, I'm sure he's done way worse to you than you to him." She sighed while gesturing to my wound.

"Heh, I suppose," I said looking down at the bandages wrapped around me.

"Come here."

I shuffled closer as Silver Sable lifted a hand over my wound, after a moment she moved her hand away. I touched my wound as my eyes widened, I quickly lifted my shirt and removed the bandages to see that the wound had completely healed.

I gasped as I gently traced my hand along the scar, "wow."

The princess smiled and winked, "I still know some things from when I was corporeal you know? Now you should probably get going, just make sure to untie Fiyero okay?"

"Y-yeah," I said dumbfounded.

She stood up and I did the same, "It was a pleasure talking to you Mr. Cat."

"Likewise princess." I said before taking her hand and planting a light kiss on her knuckles.

"Please, call me Silver Sable."

"Call me Spider-Man then."

She giggled at that and said, "very well then, I hope to see you again sometime Spider-Man."

"As do I, but…" I hesitated a bit, thinking over my next few words. "Do you want to be freed?"

The princess hummed in response as she thought about my question.

"I suppose if you had asked me this question a few centuries ago, I would have said yes," she said raising a hand towards the crystal on the altar.

"But like I said, I don't know how to be set free nor care, I've accepted my fate here." she traced her hand in circles along the surface of the crystal. "It was my decision to stay here so I will stick to what I've set myself up for, this place is still my home after all."

"Very well, then I guess this is goodbye?"

"Indeed, goodbye Spider-Man."

"Goodbye Silver Sable," I gave her a small wave before heading towards the entrance of the ruins.

After making sure to untie the fire tiger I made my way back to the secret entrance in Anairo mines. At that point fatigue was definitely catching up to me and no matter what magic the princess used to heal me, it still didn't change the fact that I lost quite the amount of blood.

I weighed my options: on one hand I can probably push through and find my way back or at least to somewhere close to the village, but on the other hand I can settle here for the rest of the night and try going back once I'm more rested.

After thinking about it I decided that it'll probably be for the best if I rest up, I was sure I was safe for now so a little sleep wouldn't hurt.

I gathered some sticks and made a small bonfire and turned my bag into a sleeping bag. I fell asleep the moment I closed my eyes.

The next thing I remembered was the whirring sound of a helicopter, I rubbed my eyes as I tried to piece together what was going on.

Turns out Mary Jane and his team have been looking for me when I didn't turn up for dinner last night. I apologized of course but boy did I get an earful from Poinsy, he was quickly distracted by the fact I found the castle ruins though.

I told him about the mines as well as the princess on our way back to the village and now I'm telling you all. This has been fun, I didn't think I would be writing another book this soon but here we are. I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to sharing more of my adventures in the future.

Righty-o!

The tiger lept towards me and I quickly turned a corner and hid behind the wall I bumped into. I felt the tiger ram into the wall, the wall shook and some pieces crumbled from the force. As the tiger was recovering from that, I quickly ran towards some of the trees nearby.

The tiger sniffed and looked around, trying to find me once more. I fished out my rope and began climbing up one of the tees. The tiger made its way towards me just as I got high enough to not be spotted immediately.

As it got closer I was able to look at it properly, it's markings looked different from those of a regular tiger. The stripes resembled that of flames, dancing on the paler fur around them. It's eyes shone with the light of the moon, like gems in the night.

I stared in awe, how? I tried to get a closer look, maybe there were stray sparks or something left behind? I got up slowly, testing the steadiness of the branch I was on, inching closer towards the tiger.

Crash.

I suddenly felt the branch give way, and the next thing I know, I was inches from the ground. The only thing suspending me in mid air was the rope I used to climb up the tree, tangled around my foot.

A gush of hot air hit me, the tiger's face was inches from mine. I tried untangling my foot, but before I could, I was slammed against a tree. I felt the air get sucked out of my lungs and my back stung from the impact.

I winced as it approached me again. It lunged as I quickly rolled out the way, hiding behind some bushes. The pain on my back slowly became the throbbing kind, still painful but definitely more bearable.

I got up, steadying myself with a tree nearby. Leaning against the tree, I looked in my bag for another rope. Just as I found one, the fire tiger rushed towards me. My eyes widened with shock, dodging as it pounced towards me. Unfortunately, I was too slow, the tiger slashed the right side of my body and I was once again slammed on the ground.

I cursed under my breath as blood began to seep through my clothes. I grunted as I holsted my body up in a sitting position. The fire tiger was staring at me, as if trying to decipher my next move. I looked at the rope that was still in my hand, then at the beast in front of me.

I took a deep breath in, tossed one end of the rope over a branch over my head and stood up. The tiger growled, sensing that I was up to something. Ignoring the pain I felt, I pulled myself up. A burning sensation ripped across my torso as I grabbed onto the first branch I could reach.

I gritted my teeth, sucking in a deep breath to try and numb the pain. I seated myself on a sturdy branch, eyes focused on the beast that's now circling the tree I'm in.

I opened up my bagbag and pulled out a bandage roll. I lifted my shirt, biting it to stabilize myself as I began wrapping my wound. I tucked the end of the bandage under some previous layers of bandage, this will have to do for now.

Well that's one issue temporarily solved, I would still need to treat it more carefully but at least the bleeding is stopped.

Then I felt the tree shake, the tiger seemed to be getting impatient. Before I knew it, the tiger was climbing up the tree. I froze in place, cuss this can't be happening.

Once it reached the branch I was on, the weight of us both was too much. My ears were ringing as I laid on the ground, my limbs felt like they were made of lead. Blood seeped through the bandages, my wound seemed to have gotten worse with all the moving.

I opened my eyes, when did I close them? A blurry blob appeared above me, is it the tiger? I tried moving, my arms, my legs, anything. My breathing quickened, I can't focus.

Calm down Spider-Man! You're an adventurer, you can pull through this, just like you have before. I felt something push against my side, cuss.

I closed my eyes again, I'll be fine. The world was spinning, my head was throbbing, but I was okay, I will be okay. Was the tiger still pushing me? I'm not sure. Breathe Spider-Man! I took a deep breath in.

A wave of tiredness overtook me, I tried focusing again but my eyelids felt heavy and I couldn't open my eyes. I felt… calm? Yes, I felt calm. A smile tugged my lips, I'll make it through.

Then my world fell into darkness as I lost consciousness.