A/N: Hello. :) Sorry for the hiatus. But I had to wait a while before Avengers Endgame is released in stores before then. And even afterward, I had to look up some Absolute Carnage comics for where to take the story after Endgame. As a result, I ended up getting Dora's family more personified from a few characters based on the Absolute Carnage comics. And I think you'll be surprised about where this is going... And I'll have you know, I mostly created this story to depict her and Venom's role in Avengers: Endgame as I interpret it, but I feel it weird not to give Amanda and Spite at least a bit of background in this beforehand, so bear with me if it feels a bit rushed. Also, the rating is subject to change from T to M, depending on where it goes and what content would pop up to trigger that change. Beyond that, enjoy.

Chapter 4: The Message

Entry #6

Things were going downhill fast, the rate things were going. Since Cletus ambushed us at the building, all I could do was run and never look back. I knew Drake would be after us, but I didn't expect him to actually turn a psychotic killer loose. Then again, considering that Cletus had that red symbiote on him, I should've counted on that. But what really boggled me was how that crazy psychopath found us. Was he tracking us somehow, the way we tracked Venom? And why did he call Venom his "daddy?" I thought Spite would have an answer, but as I caught my breath in an alleyway where I felt nobody could hear me, what I got for an answer was another thing I didn't see coming.

"What... in the world... was that?!"

He's called Carnage. And more than that, he's... my nephew.

"What?! You're related to that psycho?!"

Unfortunately. Carnage is actually my brother's spawn. Venom replicated some time before we got on Earth.

This was news to me for sure. I assumed that they were aliens that were hatched in a sort of egg, or some other. But, as it turned out, I really don't know anything about Symbiotes. I hoped Spite would understand that when I asked her how they procreated.

"Replicated? Wait. Symbiotes can actually get pregnant?"

Symbiotes don't work like that. We don't actually have a designated gender between us.

"So, you really could've been anything?"

Basically, yes.

Talk about mind-boggling. But it was hardly the main issue at the moment. For me, right now, it was the fact that Venom's son literally swallowed a man whole. Like father, like son, I guess. But Spite knew better than that.

But that's beside the point. I know you're concerned about what Carnage just did, and you should be. Unlike his father, Carnage kills for the fun of it. He isn't tied down by rationality, or any sanity clause. That's what makes him so dangerous.

And that's why it chose Cletus. The two of them must be more than compatible with each other. They're practically soulmates. Normally, I'd be all over that, but with these two, I'd make an exception.

"Great. So we've got Drake and Kassady to worry about."

And Riot, assuming he survived. And trust me, it's very likely that he has.

"I thought that other symbiote was long gone by now? Who else could've been... oh, right. Drake must've got to him to try and save Riot."

And considering that Carnage is on the loose, it's safe to assume he's not dead, either.

Great. This is turning out to be the worst night of my life. I'm on the run from two killers that are after me. One of them kills for no fricking reason, and another is killing because he thinks it's necessary. Just like when he killed... Dora. Oh, crap! I almost forgot about her family!

"Well, what are we doing here, then?! We need to find Dora's family and warn them!"

I agree. But we need to hurry, or Riot will use them next.

That idea made me curious. What would he even use them for?

If Venom could replicate, odds are, Riot will, too. And when he does, he'll need more guinea pigs to house them and make up for the numbers that went away.

Right. Of course. Anything Drake wanted is nothing but bad, that much I knew. Especially since the result of what he wanted was burned in my head with Dora's broken body lying on the floor.

"Don't remind me..."

Since then, Spite and I have been merged again, this time going for my earlier rooftop approach (finally!) to get to Dora's house. It's a good thing she told me about how to get there while she was still around. Back then, she wanted me to look after her kids when she had too much work on her hands, and the same case would go for her husband in that problem. I mean, I had my own life, sure, but Dora's done a lot of work for what she felt was right for Earth back then, so I owed her that. And boy, did she have a family.

Her late husband, Taylor Skirth, was married to her for 14 years. And her children were quite a handful for me, but all in all, they were cool kids, considering two of them were adopted. Dora's biological son, Dylan, a boy with dark blonde hair and a grey jacket (now I realized he looks a lot like Eddie) was about 13 years old. When I wasn't around, he'd always look after his adopted siblings, Sadie (a young girl with yellow hair) and Billy (a boy with raven-colored hair). Sadie is ten years old, and her brother is six. Turns out, they have quite a story. It actually took place just a bit before and right as "The Vanishing" happened.

Sadie and Billy actually came from another family who lived in Colorado. Their parents used to love each other, but when things got bad for them, they started pointing fingers at each other. In the process, they were hurting their kids. They weren't listening to a word they had to say... If you ask me, "The Vanishing" actually did them a favor. At least now, they didn't have to put up with those jackasses, if you'll excuse the language here. But how would they feel about losing their family again? I didn't have an answer for that, not even when I landed in front of their yard, and Spite could tell it was eating me alive.

"You're not sure how to tell them, are you?"

"What do you think?"

Considering that she's rooted around my head again, I felt like Spite should know the answer by now. Of course, she did, but she also knew they wouldn't take too lightly to seeing me— us, like this.

"I think I'll let you take it from here."

The way Spite scurried back inside me, it sounded like she felt awkward about finding out the things that she did. But why did she? Did she not care about what it means to me? Or was it because she didn't know how to process it? Either way, it might be for the best for now.

"Okay. But, I'll need you if anything happens, got it?"

Understood.

Truth was, I still needed Spite for support, like she supported me when I was broken down. What happened a few moments ago was a cinch to me. For me, the hardest part is trying to tell those kids what happened to their mom. Did they even know about what happened, or did they just assume she's had to stay longer for work? Either way, it's no small task to come clean about this kind of thing. And I just knew that I'd hate every moment of it.

I tried to reach my hand out to knock on the door, but I was hesitating. For all they knew, they could've been expecting me to look after them before their mom could come back. But if they find out, who knows what'll happen to them? I didn't want to think about it, but sooner or later, they had to face reality. It'd be cruel to hide it from them, more so than what Drake did to her. So, I finally knocked on the door and tried to see if anyone was awake.

"Dylan? Sadie? Billy? It's me, Amanda. I need to talk to you."

I was hoping that one of the three would come to the door and open it. But... nobody came to the door. And as the silence dragged on, it started to be... upsetting. Could they have known about what happened to her? I wanted to check again to be sure.

"Guys? Are you there?"

Again, I received no answer. I couldn't tell what was behind that door, but if they were there, they must be upset.

"At least talk to me..."

That was the third time around, and still, no answer came. I couldn't help but get worried for the three of them. And somehow, Spite already knew something was sketchy.

They're not here.

"How do you know that?"

I looked through the windows. There's nobody there.

The windows? How come I didn't look there? Maybe it's because I was still wallowing in grief about what I should've done...

You should really stop that, by the way. It's obviously not going to help anyone.

Leave it to Spite to be do blunt about it. But she did have a point.

"I'm sorry. You're right. We need to investigate and see what's going on."

Following that instinct, I tried to open the door, but unfortunately, it was locked. Even worse, with what happened to me, I forgot about the key to their house. Luckily, Spite had an idea to remedy that.

I got this.

Right about then, my arm started sprouting a small, silver tentacle that went inside the lock and turned the mechanism until it clicked. After that, it went back inside my skin as I checked to see if what Spite did actually worked. Sure enough, when the door opened, it did.

You're welcome.

I had to hand it to her, it was convenient. But the important thing was this investigation. As I looked around the place, it seemed pretty normal to me, at least from the hallway to the stairs in front of me. The kids must've gone to bed early. Wait... when did they ever go to bed early? They never did that when I came over, or at all for that matter. Although, there could be a first time for everything. I had to be sure it was before I assume anything.

"Dylan? Sadie? Billy? Are you here?"

When I received no answer again, I had no choice but to keep walking to verify the situation myself. As I got closer, I turned my head to the right and saw a TV left on as snow patterns were the only thing on the screen. And not just that, but the main thing was that the living room looked like a beast got into this place. The curtains were torn to shreds, the couch was split open some, and to top it off, a tape was just left on the table that said "Play Me." That's the best Drake came up with? Honestly, I thought he'd be a little more advanced than that. As far as break-ins go, this was, by far, the most bizarre, almost like something straight out of a horror movie. Either way, it's the only clue to find out what happened to them, so far. But with what's happened in here... did I even want to?

I'm not sure I like this situation at all.

"I know. Me neither."

Despite it, though, we have to know what happened, and this tape could be our only answer. So, I had to push the tape inside the VCR below the TV. Dora and her family would always use it to play videos about their family and their lives when they were little. It was always sweet to watch with the others... but now, this might be the one time I regret playing anything on a VHS tape. As soon as it came on, Drake showed up on the screen, most likely at the Life Foundation building.

"Hello, Ms. Greyson. I see you've found the tape I left behind for you. I know what you're thinking. 'Isn't Carlton Drake more advanced than this?' Well, believe it or not, you could actually learn a thing or two from the past to make the future happen. Like 'the Vanishing' for instance. Since then, I realized two things. One, every religion that thought there was another existence outside our physical, that we are reincarnated into another being? All of it... is just a load of bull crap. There was no god to save half of the world from disappearing to thin air. Those that do despite it... they're all idiots! And that's an existence I can't put up with anymore!"

If you can't put up with that, then why are you still around, you son of a— snitch, I guess? I wanted to curse something worse, but I was raised too well, for one thing. Another reason was that it'd be pretty ridiculous to just curse at a prerecorded message.

"Which brings us to number two. In general, as far as existence, humanity was stagnant, dying from the beginning. The sad truth of it is, we deny that any of it happened because we prefer to not live in that squalid lifestyle. We don't adapt to that truth, and believe it or not, it kills us. And it happens every single day. But, I found a way to fix that. See, I wasn't lying when I said human and symbiote together are the future. When you think about it, the proof is everywhere. You're the proof. Brock's the proof. Kassady's the proof..."

What else was new? I found out about that last part not too long ago. I'll at least give him a point about that. But he wasn't done talking. Suddenly, to finish his sentence, his whole body suddenly became swallowed up by a dark blue substance, showing the same jagged eyes as Spite and Venom, but with a wider mouth and shorter length of teeth that were just as sharp. The whole image of that horrified me. Because that was the one who tried to bond with me: Riot.

"And I'm the proof."

Suddenly, Riot took the camera with his one hand and lifted it up above him as he spoke with me. Of course, it was a prerecorded message, but it's safe to say he knew about me.

"Like it or not, that proof won't end with me. My children will be that proof, too. One way, or the other..."

To emphasize his point, Riot moved aside to show the lab where Dora's body once laid. But it wasn't the rush of haunting memories that terrified me: it was what was within that lab. There were three jars that held a green symbiote, a purple one, and an orange one. How could they be there? Where did they come from?

Riot must've replicated himself and kept them safe in those pods. But for who?

Unfortunately, I found my answer. Adjacent to those pods were the people I was trying to tell the truth about: Dylan, Sadie, and Billy. They're both trapped, strapped to hospital beds, waiting for the Symbiotes to take them... How could I let this happen...? Why didn't I get to them sooner...?!

"Drake told me you wouldn't want their bonding on your conscience. So, I have an offer to make. Bring me my offspring, Spite..."

What? His offspring...?

"...and I will let them go free. But if you don't... they will tear your friends apart from the inside. Make your choice."

Instantly, the camera cut to snow. Good news was, I finally found out where they were. Bad news, I found out they were in Riot's clutches. Even worse, I found out that Spite was lying to me... She was using me this whole time. How could I be so stupid?

Amanda, I can explain—

"Was that why you took me to the news building? To distract me from getting to Dora's family, while your father took them?"

It wasn't my plan, Amanda.

"Then what was?! You told me that you needed me to save the world, but what good is that if I can't even save the people who mattered to me?! I had that chance after what happened, but I didn't take it! And it's all your fault!"

My fault?

That worried tone was something I didn't expect from Spite. It almost sounded... sad. Not that I cared back then. I was too angry at her to think on it.

"If you just bonded with Dora to save her, she wouldn't have died, and her family wouldn't be captured! I promised her that I'd look after them and keep them safe, but by now, it's too late to do anything! So, yeah! It is your fault!"

The instant I said those words, I felt something jolt me to the floor. Not long after, Spite started to come out of my skin as the same floating head that tried to comfort me back on my apartment. But now, Spite looked way past that point to even try with me this time.

"You honestly think I wanted this to happen?! I tried to help as soon as I could in that lab when I heard her scream! I admit I should've been better, but there wasn't anything even I could do to stop it, just like I couldn't stop him from brainwashing my kind! Why do you think I tried to resist him so much?! Riot may have replicated me, BUT HE IS NEVER MY FATHER!"

If I didn't see that hurt before, I'm definitely seeing it now. I've never seen Spite this angry, or hurt, for that matter. It may be because I had no idea how Symbiotes were typically raised, but still...

"He took everything away from me, too... and there was nothing I could do. Nothing..."

As far as emotions, Spite really knew how to surprise me. Because she did the one thing I never knew Symbiotes could do: she cried. Honestly, it sounded more like a light sob underwater, but I could tell she was upset. It must've been hard for her to resist her father for so long... Whoever that offworlder was who helped her realize the truth, I should thank her for making sure Spite was on my side. I didn't quite know how to comfort her, so the best I came up with was to hold her floating head with my hands.

"Spite... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. I was just... I'm scared. I just lost my best friend, and now, I'm going to lose her family. And I have... absolutely no clue how to handle any of it. So I took that out on you. And I'm sorry..."

Fortunately, it seemed like Spite got the message as she made a light smile with a thin spread from her gooey likeness.

"I know. And I know you know about my rooting in your head about it. I just wanted to hear you say it for real."

Yep. That's Spite for you. At least she's becoming more considerate in rooting around my head. But we had bigger fish to fry at the moment. And there are people who needed us.

"Okay, let's review. Riot is your father, and he wants you turned in, or they'll be used as hosts. Think we should trust him?"

"Not likely. He's a team player, so he's going to take care of his offspring the way he thinks is best: using your friends as hosts. And if we don't go, he'll do so anyway."

This was a conundrum for us. So far, Riot sent that message to me and Spite. But Drake would've needed to go after Venom, too. Most likely, he would've sent his men for that. Knowing him, though, Venom could take them, tops. Unless...

"Spite, how long can you stay, you know... host-less?"

"About two hours at the least. Maybe more in cold vents. Why?"

"Have you ever heard about breaking and entering?"

A/N: So, what did you think of the characters so far? I know in the comics Dylan was actually Eddie's son, though he was told he was his younger brother, but since Anne and Eddie didn't exactly procreate yet, I had to introduce him in some other way. Though, if you still prefer that to be the case in this story, I'll see what I can do to make that happen. And if it does happen to be rated M in the future, it may be according to the inevitable violence that either Carnage or Thanos could wreak, or to a lower extent, some sensual moments. Hope you understand.