Spider-Man could only watch as The Rider fell too his feet, a victim of the brutal kick that had been cast by an unindentifiable figure in the distance. He didn't recognise it as a loved one of his. He only recognised it as evil. And that was enough to surge new life into the radioactively charged muscles that boomed within Peter Parker's arms.
"THAT. IS. IT!"
With a tug at both of the corpses that latched onto him, Spider-Man drove them both off with a mighty heave, sending them flying deeper into the graveyard. Turning to the figure in the distance, Peter pointed straight at her with an unfathomed hatred for what the being had done to the people he had held dear.
"You are one seriously twisted fruit loop, lady! Tribulations or not, these people were supposed to rest in peace! REST. IN. PEACE! Not pieces!", Spider-Man angrily shot at the being.
"It is not your place to question me, mortal.", The being countered.
"But it is his place, demon."
Spider-Man looked up as The Ghost Rider rose to his feet, unsheathing a burning chain that wrapped around his torso as if it were a whip.
"You had chosen Peter Parker because of both his humanly purity and his fraility to your influences. But what you underestimated was the will that guided him. And the power that guides thyself."
"If what you tell is indeed true, than the Tribulations shall cease immediately. Spider-Man has bested your influence, and so have I. Tonight, you answer for your crimes, follower of the Necropotence. Tonight, you answer to VENGEANCE."
Spider-Man stared as The Ghost Rider violently flung his burning chain at the demon. As they began battle, Peter turned around, his spider-sense blazing even bolder before. Spider-Man flipped into the air, landing on the undead Kraven's shoulders and wrapping his legs around the Hunter's throat. Immediately, Spider-Man began drumming his hands on Kraven's skull.
"Betcha' just love this.", Spider-Man quipped, as Kraven struggled to free himself of the webslinger's annoyingly painful attack.
"I SHALL SUCK YOUR BONES DRY AND MOUNT YOUR HEAD ON MY MANTLE!", Kraven yelled.
"Aww shucks. I love you too, big guy.", Spider-Man answered, bending forward and looking at Kraven's face, upside down.
"Strictly plutonically, of course."
Before Kraven could grab Peter by the skull, Spider-Man flipped backwards, kicking off of the Hunter, sending him into a nearby gravestone. His own, ironically. But by the time Kraven would look back, the last thing his captor would see would be the flying foot of Spider-Man, as he swung towards the demon at an incredible speed.
"And since you're really determined to be the next Kraven The Hunter, let me fill you in on how me and Jungle boy always spent our days. With tough lovin'."
Pulling down on his fresh webline, Spider-Man swung right through the corpse in an explosion of dust and bones. Sticking to Kraven's headstone, Spider-Man looked back, watching the skeleton sink back into the ground.
"Spidey three, Zombies zilch. I love this game.", Spider-Man stated.
But beneath all of the jokes, Peter remained shocked to the core. This would remain with him for times to come. He was sure of it. The day he had to cross a line he'd never thought possible. Of course, it wasn't as if he had another choice. It was either them, or his soul. And as much as Peter hated to face the fact... His soul may have been all that he had left.
Spider-Man backflipped, staying alert. He didn't see Captain Stacy or his Uncle Ben. An eyebrow arched on Peter's face, as he looked back.
"Uh... Marco?"
Spider-Man's eyes widened, as his spider-sense widly blared. He looked around, trying to see where the corpses were no doubt coming from. But nothing. It was then that Spider-Man felt a tug at his feet. Peter looked down, horrified, as both corpses shot up from the ground, clutching at Peter's legs.
"GAH!", Spider-Man yelped, trying to break free.
"Come with us, Pete. It's much better on the other side.", Ben stated.
Spider-Man ignored his words, shooting a webline up at a nearby tree, and pulling with all of his might. But the more he pulled, the harder it became, as he began to sink into the ground.
This isn't happening! This can't be happening! And it definatley shouldn't be happening!
"Don't fight it, Peter.", Captain Stacy responded, grasping at Peter's kneecap.
"Embrace your failures."
Spider-Man pulled even harder, hearing that.
"You want me to talk about failures?! Fine! I'll talk!", Spider-Man yelled, angrily.
"It's pretty obvious, here, that you're the ones who's going to fail! You may have been able to fool me at first, but I know fully well that what's happening couldn't possibly be the work of the people I loved! You want to try and pass as the people that made me who I am today?! THEN LET ME LIVE MY LIFE! LET ME LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!"
Spider-Man tugged even harder, finally breaking free of the corpses' individual arms as they shattered among Peter's tug.
"LET ME LEARN THAT WITH GREAT POWER, COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY!", Spider-Man screamed, spinning and firing two weblines at both.
Pulling them in the opposite directions, Spider-Man watched as they slammed into each other, and crumbled among the impact. As both corpses sank into the Earth, like the others had, Spider-Man dropped to his knees, breathing hard, and quietly.
Never once did he ever think he would have to give that lecture to the man that originally instilled it in him. But it was time that both the demons and Peter himself remembered that important lesson.
Sure, He had let that thug run past him at the television studio, way back when. And it resulted in the death of his uncle, and the birth of a life that tonight, literally plagued him. And sure, he had invented the webbing that made Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms spiral out of control, hitting that debris and causing the death of George Stacy. But if there was one thing his opposers probably didn't count on, it was the fact that Peter had forgiven himself long ago for those grave mistakes. He just hadn't realised it yet.
Spider-Man stood tall, and stood high, as he realised that no more came to face him. He had won.
But there was still the Rider to deal with.